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CHINA AND JAPAN 



fjedoM of ObgeiV&tioi^ 



MADE 



DURING A RESIDENCE OF SEVERAL YEARS IN CHINA, 

AND A TOUR OF OFFICIAL VISITATION TO THE 

MISSIONS OF BOTH COUNTRIES 

IN 1877-78. 



REV. \:>W. WILEY, D. D., 

ONE OF THE BISHOPS OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 







B79. .**; 

OF W^V^V 
:INCINNATI: 



HITCHCOCK ANDWALDEN 

NEW YORK: PHILLIPS & HUNT. 

1879. 



J~*^ 



£^)~ 



-++-t7t 



Copyright by 

HITCHCOCK & WALDEN, 

1879. 



DEDICATION 



t$o my W\te, 



WHO ACCOMPANIED ME DURING THE JOURNEYINGS 
RECORDED IN THESE PAGES, 



WHOSE CHEERFUL PRESENCE RELIEVED THE TEDIOUSNESS 
OF LONG VOYAGES, 



LIGHTENED THE BURDEN OF MANY CARES AND LABORS, 

THIS VOLUME 

IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY THE 



Sutior. 



PREFACE. 



<\lc 



jfHE author of this volume was appointed 
in 1850 by the Missionary authorities of the 
fif Methodist Episcopal Church as Missionary 
physician to their mission in Foochow, 
China. He reached the field of labor in 185 1, 
and remained till 1854. The mission was then 
in its formative stage, but has since become one 
of the most successful mission stations, not only 
in China, but anywhere in the heathen world. 
The history of its growth and its present condi- 
tion are detailed in this volume. During these 
years spent in China a quarter of a century ago 
much time was necessarily spent in studying the 
language, institutions, customs, religions, etc. , 
of this people, as a preparatory work for in- 
troducing among them the Gospel of Christ. 



6 Preface. 

Much of the results of the studies and observa- 
tions made in those years are embodied in the 
present work. 

In 1877 the writer was appointed by the 
Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church to 
make an official visitation to all our missions 
in China and Japan. This visitation occupied 
nearly a year, and embraced a tour along nearly 
the whole coast of China from Peking to Canton, 
and five hundred miles up the Yang-tsze-kiang, 
and a visit to all the open ports of Japan from 
Hakodate to Nagasaki. The nature of his vis- 
itation gave him ready access not only to the 
missions and missionaries of his own Church but 
to all the open ports and to all the missionaries 
and to the representative men of our country in 
those lands, so that his observations are by no 
means confined to the missions of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church. The present volume is 
thus made up of personal observations in both 
countries during his former residence in China 
and his recent visitation. The book is written 
mainly from a missionary point of view, and is 
chiefly designed to give such facts as will inspire 



Preface. 7 

deeper interest and greater zeal on the part of 
Christian people for the evangelization of these 
great empires ; but it will be found to contain, 
also, much information on topics of general 
interest in both these countries, such as their 
manners, customs, institutions, religions, and 
foreign relations. The author's observations of 
twenty-five years ago, combined with those of 
the tour but recently completed, enable him to 
view these great questions of progress in mis- 
sions and in civilization by way of contrast, 
which will interest and encourage those who 
are really laboring for the regeneration of these 
peoples. 

These chapters are by no means a mere re- 
publication of certain letters which the author 
wrote while making the journey. Those letters 
have all been re-written, and incorporated with a 
great amount of material and with many subjects 
that were not at all referred to in the letters. 
If the book will serve to quicken the zeal of 
Christians in the work of evangelizing these great 
empires, and will have some influence in getting 



8 Preface. 

the people of America to understand better both 
our political and Christian relations towards these 
neighbors, whose empires are only separated 
from our own western borders by a steam-ferry, 
the writer will be compensated for all his labor 
in giving these facts to the public. 

Cincinnati, March, 1879. 




PRONUNCIATION. 



|T is impossible by any system of English spelling 
to represent exactly the pronunciation of Chinese 
*JU or Japanese words, yet by an easy system an 
™|* approximation can be made sufficiently accurate 
I for all the purposes of the reader. In this vol- 
ume there are scarcely any foreign words used except 
names of persons or places. A few general princi- 
ples will render their pronunciation easy. 

The Chinese language is monosyllabic; but in 
names, generally, two or more of these monosyllables 
are used, as Shang-hai; and in English writing they 
are generally combined, as Shanghai, Hongkong, etc. 
Every vowel or diphthong creates a syllable; and 
this is true in both languages, as To-ki-o, Yang-tsze- 
kiang. The two vowels of the Kiang in this word 
create what in English would be two syllables; but 
it is only one Chinese character, and would be con- 
sidered a monosyllabic word. There is no alphabet 
in either of the languages; but the Japanese have 
a system of syllabic spelling, and all their syllables 

9 



I O PR ON UN CIA TIGN 

are open, as Yo-ko-ha-ma, Na-ga-sa-ki, etc. For- 
tunately the missionaries and scholars of both coun- 
tries have adopted nearly the same system of En- 
glish orthography for representing the sounds of 
both languages. The power of consonants is the 
same as in our own language. G is always hard; 
ch as in chief ; ng, as an initial in the Chinese, is im- 
possible to a foreigner without hearing and practicing 
it. The following table will exhibit the power of 
the rowels : 

A as vs\. father — as Ha-ko-da-te. 

E as in there — as Te, earth, as English ta. 

I long as in machine — as Ki-o-to, Kami. 

I short as in sing — as Peking. 

O long and short as in English — Hong-kong, To-ki-o. 

U as oo in moon — Shan-tung. 

Ai as long i in aisle. 

Aou very long, as in cozu — Taou. 

Au as in now — Foochow, formerly Eu-chau. 

Iu as eau in beauty — as Kiu-kiang. 

Syllables are occasionally closed in the Japanese 
by a final n or m, sometimes changed to p for 
euphony. 




CONTENTS, 



PAGE. 

I. From San Francisco to Shanghai, 15 

II. From Shanghai to Peking, 44 

III. Our North China Mission, 62 

IV. The City of Peking, 72 

V. Public Buildings of Peking, 91 

VI. In the Southern City, 107 

VII. From Peking to Shanghai, 120 

VIII. From Shanghai to Kiukiang, 132 

IX. Our Mission at Kiukiang, 141 

X. Adieu to Shanghai, 150 

XL From Shanghai to Foochow, 161 

XII. The City of Foochow, 173 

XIII. Foochow — A Visit to the City, 184 

XIV. Foochow — Historical Sketch, 195 

XV. A Visit to the Country, 205 

XVI. A Conference Organizkd, 223 

XVII. Chinese Wedding in High Life, 239 

XVIII. Among the Temples, 251 

XIX. Confucius, 268 

1 1 



i2 Contents. 

PAGE. 

XX. Monastery of the Bubbling Spring, .... 275 

XXI. From Foochow to Hongkong, 292 

XXII. Canton, 302 

XXIII. From China to Japan, 328 

XXIV. Yokohama to Nagasaki, 358 

XXV. Nagasaki, 373 

XXVI. Yokohama, 385 

XXVII. The City of Tokio, 404 

XXVIII. Sights in Tokio, 418 

XXIX. Christianity in China, 436 

XXX. Christianity in Japan, 462 

XXXI. Religions of Japan, 458 

XXXII. Religions of China, 491 

XXXIII. The Women of China and Japan, 520 




ILLUSTRATIONS. 



rAGE. 

View from the Forbidden City, Peking, . Frontispiece. 

Our Ocean Palace, 21 

Scene on the Pacific Ocean, 27 

First Sight of Japan, 3$ 

The Jinrikisha, 39 

Map of Eastern China, 45 

Li Hung Chang, 57 

A Native on the Peiho, 59 

A View in Peking, 65 

The Great Wall, 75 

The Peking Chariot, 83 

Urn in Cloisonne, 99 

Platter in Cloisonne, 101 

Thirteen Storied Pagoda, 103 

Temple of the Seasons, 109 

"Hall of Instruction/' 115 

Porcelain Tower, 135 

Shanghai Merchant's Wife, 151 

Wheelbarrow Traveling in Shanghai, 153 

A Mandarin, 155 

Map of Fokien, 165 

foochow on the rlver, 1 75 

FOOCHOW ON THE HlLL, 1 99 

Field Laborers, 217 

Bridal Procession, 243 

>3 



14 Illustrations. 

PAGE. 

The Veiled Bride, 247 

A Temple of Confucius, • • • . . 259 

Buddhist Monastery — Kushan, 279 

Bonzes at Prayer, . 287 

A Chinese Boy, 295 

Pleasure Boat at Canton, 304 

Itinerant Barber, 309 

A Street in Canton, 315 

Canton Peddler, 323 

Map of Japan, 329 

Old Japan, 335 

Ainos-Aborigines of Japan, 341 

Shinto Temple at Hakodate, • 349 

Daimio at Home, 353 

City of Kobe, 359 

Buddhist Shrine at Kobe, 363 

Belfry at Ozaka, 367 

Young Lady of Ozaka, 370 

Women of Nagasaki, 377 

Shinto Shrine near Yokohama, 389 

Plowing and Sowing Rice, 395 

Daibutzu, 401 

Daimio and Followers, 407 

A Shinto Temple, 413 

Atago Yama, 422 

Temple of Hachiman, 429 

Jimmu Tenno, 470 

Interior of Shinto Temple, 475 

A Wayside Shrine, 479 

Chinese Field Woman, 521 

Chinese House Woman, 525 

A Chinese Lady, 527 

The Little Foot and Shoe, . . 530 

Japanese Court Lady, 539 

Japanese Girls, 547 



Ch 



INA AND JAPAN. 



J, 



I. 



^l'om $&*\ J^an&^do to $lfai^l\kL 



^k^ 



jjN the 24th of July 1877, accompanied by 
my wife and little daughter, I started on a 
tour of official visitation to the Methodist 
Episcopal Missions in China and Japan. 
On the way across the continent I attended 
the Colorado, Utah, and Southern California 
Conferences, and on the first day of September 
was in San Francisco, awaiting the sailing of 
our steamer. Here I already came in contact 
with genuine missionary work, and it is not in- 
appropriate to introduce here a passing notice 
of our mission among the Chinese in California. 
At the head of this mission is the Rev. Otis Gib- 
son, D. D., formerly of the mission in Foochow. 
Mr. Gibson brought to this mission the ex- 
perience of several years' labor among the Chinese 

*5 



1 6 China and Japan. 

at home, and a deep sympathy for them. Our 
mission here was founded about nine years ago. 
It has met with a very encouraging degree of 
success. More than sixty adults have been bap- 
tized, and several hundred men and women have 
received more or less of Christian education and 
influence. The mission owns a fine building, 
which cost about fourteen thousand dollars, on 
a lot of ground, costing twelve thousand more. 
The property is fully worth to-day all that it has 
cost, and is admirably adapted to its purposes, 
and is well located in its relation to the most 
thickly settled Chinese part of the city. It is a 
large, square, double building of wood, of which 
most of the buildings of this city are made, on 
account of the earthquake shocks. One part of 
the house is occupied by the missionary and his 
family and American teachers, and still a part 
of it yields a little revenue from rents. The 
other half of the building is arranged for school 
and chapel purposes, and the boarding of the 
"girls." 

There are now about twenty -five of these 
"girls," rescued from the life of shame that was 
before them, making their home in this building. 
Nearly all of them are Christians, and all are 
receiving Christian education. The history of 
each one of them is a story in itself. They are 



Dr. Gibson's Mission. 17 

all refugees, by their own choice, for some of 
whom Dr. Gibson has had to do good battle to 
maintain their security in his house from their 
owners; that is, from "the company' ' that has 
imported them into this country. Fortunately 
the law is on their side whenever they choose 
voluntarily to escape from their masters ; or 
rather, there is no law that demands that they 
shall be returned to their owners. They are, 
therefore, usually safe whenever they find their 
way into Dr. Gibson's retreat. Quite a number 
of " girls" have been thus saved, soul and body. 
They have become good Christians and have 
married Christian husbands. In about two weeks 
from this time there was to be another of these 
weddings in the mission building. These are 
always interesting occasions, attended by a num- 
ber of ladies and friends, who are interested in 
this department of the mission work. The most 
of these "girls" are supported through the con- 
tributions of "the Woman's Missionary Society" 
of this coast. Besides these "girls," women are 
sometimes brought here by the men who intend 
to marry them, and they are supported by their 
intended husbands, while they are receiving six 
months' or a year's training in the home and 
school. Then they are married like "Mellikan 
man," and live virtuous lives. 



< 



1 8 China and Japan. 

The great influence of a mission like this can 
not be measured by counting just so many bap- 
tized or taught in the school; its very presence 
is a light to the whole Chinese community and 
a constant blessing. Dr. Gibson is working in a 
most difficult, not to say hazardous, field. His 
mission is between two lines of enemies. The 
" Chinese companies," and many of the Chinese 
people are bitterly hostile to him, while the 
whole force of the hatred to the Chinese, on the 
part of the whites, breaks around him and his 
mission. His house has been assailed by the 
mob; he has been burned in effigy; his life has 
been threatened, and there is no doubt that he 
has been in real personal danger. It is not to 
his shame or ours that his name and our mission 
stand in the front of the battle on both sides, 
receiving the brunt of the prejudice of the whites 
on the one side, and the maledictions of the bad 
Chinese on the other. But the Chinese of all 
classes have at last learned that the mission is 
their true friend, and in every time of need they 
resort to Dr. Gibson as a counselor and friend. 

We spent two days in the mission building, 
attending a part of the exercises and observing 
its workings. It deserves much more of the 
sympathy, confidence, prayers, and gifts of the 
people throughout the whole Church, than it has 



Chinese Services. 19 

yet received. Wednesday night is devoted to 
singing and a Bible-class. With the singing I 
was surprised and delighted. In my own mis- 
sionary labors among this people, in the early 
days of Chinese Missions, I really feared that the 
Chinese would never be able to sing well, and 
that this would be a serious defect in their relig- 
ious life; but here they were, male and female, 
singing correctly, heartily, and sweetly. In the 
Bible-class they gave evidence of a very clear 
appreciation of the temptation of Christ, which 
was the lesson for the evening. Last Sabbath 
was their quarterly-meeting. In the morning 
they held their love-feast, in which tea and 
crackers were served, instead of bread and water, 
and about thirty gave their testimony for Christ. 
After this came the sacrament of the Lord's- 
supper, which was a very impressive occasion. 
The excitement at this time was at a glowing 
heat in San Francisco, and the mission was at its 
most critical point. It is destined, however, to 
triumph, and to be an important element in the 
wise and just settlement of this vexed "Chinese 
question." 

On the 1 2th of September we sailed from 
San Francisco, in the steamship City of Peking, 
of the Pacific Mail Company, a magnificent ves- 
sel ; indeed, a vessel like this might well rank 



20 China and Japan. 

first among the modern wonders of the world. 
She is about four hundred feet long, fifty feet 
wide, and about fifty feet from keel to upper 
decks. She carries three square-rigged and one 
fore and aft mast, and a full set of sails. She 
is of five thousand tons burden, and is freighted 
now to her full capacity. She carries twelve 
hundred tons of coal, and usually makes the run 
from San Francisco to Hong Kong in from 
twenty-five to thirty days. Her engine is a mag- 
nificent specimen of modern genius and skill. 
We have six huge boilers, four of which only 
are in use. She has six cylinders, three low and 
three high pressure. The power is equal to that 
of four thousand horses. Our screw or pro- 
pelling wheel is twenty-four feet in diameter ; and 
thus, with the power of four thousand horses 
driving this great wheel, this huge vessel, weigh- 
ing in all about eight thousand tons, is impelled 
through the water at the rate of about ten miles 
an hour. When the winds are favorable, the sails 
are set, and then we have made as high as four- 
teen miles an hour. The steering apparatus is 
also under the control of steam, so that a man 
can turn this mountain of a ship in whatever di- 
rection he wishes by a single finger, and can 
direct the whole great engine by a single hand. 
So with this great and still more complicated 




'■Vf-lTWl'.M" 1 ''!,' ■ili:.;!'i' ''■i |l |,'i|,|'.!"l ! : l| ; 



Out at Sea. 23 

machine, which we call man, a single thought 
or a single volition sends it where we will, and 
makes of it what we choose. 

The ship is well manned and under strict dis- 
cipline. The officers dress in uniform, and are 
strictly under naval regulations. We have had 
two false alarms of fire, the object of which is to 
practice the men. In a very few moments, every 
man was in his place, and four streams of water 
were playing on the pretended fire. It is quite 
an exciting occasion, but things would hardly 
move so smoothly in a real fire. We have plenty 
of pleasant company, — Mr. H. H. Lowry, wife, 
and children, and Mr. W. G. Benton, our own 
missionaries going to China, the former returning 
to Peking, and the latter going to Kiukiang. 
We have also Rev. Mr. Pierson and wife, and 
his sister, returning to Paoting Fu, about a hun- 
dred miles from Peking, and five young ladies, 
missionaries of the American and Presbyterian 
Boards, going to various parts of China and 
Japan. We have naval officers going to join the 
Pacific squadron ; consuls from several countries, 
going to Japanese and Chinese ports ; and nearly 
every nation of the world is represented, either 
in the cabin or in the steerage. We have six 
hundred and thirty Chinese in the steerage, re- 
turning home. These vessels arc now carrying 



24 China and Japan. 

nearly as many Chinese back home as they are 
bringing over. If politicians and excited and 
unreasonable men would let "the Chinese ques- 
tion' ' alone, like a great many other questions, 
it would soon regulate itself. 

We have had, all the way, what sailors would 
call good weather, but what novices would con- 
sider pretty rough. The sea has been high most 
of the time, and we have had strong winds and a 
large share of rainy and misty weather. Our 
course has been as far north as 46 ° 48' of lati- 
tude, on the principle that the farthest way 
around is the nearest way across — which, in this 
case, is literally true. A direct line from San 
Francisco to Yokohama would measure four 
thousand seven hundred and forty-six miles ; by 
our semi-circular sweep of more than ten degrees, 
we make it in about four thousand five hundred 
miles ; while side-wheel steamers, which must 
run to the south, in order to find lighter winds 
and smoother seas, make the distance about five 
thousand two hundred miles. But, altogether, 
it has been what would be called a rough pass- 
age, but still favorable for making a quick one. 
Judging from our voyage, I can not tell why 
this should be called the Pacific Ocean. It has 
certainly not been very pacific any time since we 
left San Francisco. It has been fully as rough 



Sights on the Ocean. 25 

most of the time as we usually find the Atlantic, 
and at times, I have seen the waves almost as 
high as any I ever saw on the other sea ; but 
then this is the month of September, and in the 
midst of equinoctial times. 

It is needless to describe the monotonous 
scenes and incidents on board the vessel. It is 
enough that we had all the variety that is offered 
by the boundless and ever-changing sea, by all 
kinds of weather, from the dead calm to the gale 
and squall that lash the sea into foam, by the 
never-ending changes that accompany sunrise and 
sunset, by the starlit and the moonlit nights, by 
sea-sickness and by good company. To me, 
there is no weariness in a sea voyage. The sea 
itself, and the ship, are exhaustless subjects of 
interest, even for a long voyage. To-day the 
great ocean lies around us, calm, smooth, motion- 
less, except great heavy swells, as if it were tak- 
ing deep, long-drawn breaths. There is scarcely 
a ripple to be seen on all its bright bosom. Nu- 
merous nautili pass by us, with their tiny, trans- 
parent sails spread out, at once catching sufficient 
of the gently moving air to push them along the 
water, and decomposing the light that falls upon 
them, like a prism, reflecting the colors of the 
rainbow ; thus serving at once as instruments of 
motion and organs of beauty. They reminded 



26 China and Japan. 

us of the miniature boats we made in younger 
years, and started off on some fancied peril- 
ous voyage, on some stream or meadow pond ; 
though in the success with which they sail along, 
they surpass our little crafts in skillful navigation, 
and merit well their name of "Portuguese men- 
of-war.' ' Another day, and how all this peace- 
ful scene is changed! The sky, that yesterday 
was so clear, to-day is covered with heavy black 
clouds, rapidly scudding above us, with their 
ragged borders fringed with gold, and now and 
then permitting a little blue sky to appear be- 
tween them. The sea, scarcely exhibiting a rip- 
ple yesterday, to-day presents a wild and varied 
scene. Yesterday, a sleeping infant ; to-day, a 
giant, enraged to fury, rolling in large, irregular, 
broken waves ; here breaking and throwing high 
in air their briny spray, and there raising up 
their high summits, flashing in the sunbeams, 
like crests of silver; now seeming to hush down 
to rest, and then, in a little while, becoming 
doubly wild and broken. It is a grand sight, in- 
deed, to look out upon this vast circle of waters, 
heaving, falling, splashing, and foaming like some 
enraged monster. 

Our ship, too, that sat proudly erect on the 
smooth water of yesterday, to-day is tossed about 
wildly on the excited waters. Proudly still she 




SCENE ON THE PACIFIC OCEAN'. 



Battle with the Waves. 29 

moves, and gracefully, but with what majesty 
does she plow through the mad waters, now 
lifting her head high above the waves, now dart- 
ing fiercely into the deep sea, now bending far 
over to leeward, straining every brace, and her 
shrouds creaking before the pressure of the 
wind, and in a moment, like a living giant, 
roused to resistance, she rights up again, and 
darts along, erect and noble, triumphing over 
the sea and the storm. The sky, too, is a per- 
petual study to the voyager, as it bends above 
him, like a changeable chart, every day and night, 
an arched dome dipping down on every side to 
meet the waters. Now it is an immense concave 
of bright blue, a gorgeous azure canopy ; now it 
is obscured by hazy or black or dense or broken 
clouds. Now it is made glorious by the ris- 
ing or the setting of the sun, its beams flashing 
all across the wide ocean. Now it is studded 
with stars. 

These stars, and the moon, too, seem like the 
faces of old familiar friends, that when every 
thing else of home and country has passed away, 
seem still to follow our track, and to watch us 
with their flashing eyes from their lofty homes. 

The schools of large fishes, some of them 
large enough to be dignified with the name of 
whales, come leaping and swimming about us. 



30 China and Japan. 

Sometimes they leap clear of the water and 
plunge into the sea again, throwing great masses 
of water about them. Porpoises, albicores, dol- 
phins, bonitos, and black fish abound. Gulls 
and petrels give us their company for nearly 
all the voyage. We almost fell in love with the 
stormy petrels, familiarly known under the name 
of "Mother Carey's chickens. " They are small, 
not exceeding the size of our robins; their color 
is black, their breast and belly being covered 
with white feathers. Their wings are long and 
their bills are curved like those of birds of 
prey. It is astonishing to witness these little 
creatures, hundreds of miles from land, as if they 
made their perpetual home, not on, but above 
the waters of the ocean, flying about us from 
morning to night, and we have seen them far on 
into the night, without seeming to rest for a mo- 
ment. Some say they are more numerous in 
stormy weather, but our sailors disputed this, 
and said that they are but seldom seen in very 
stormy weather, some lone wanderer only being 
seen to dart across the dark sky, as if eager to 
escape the storm. 

Prominent among all the birds that follow us, 
through size, beauty, and gracefulness, is the 
albatross. If the eagle has appropriated the 
name of king of birds, the albatross is entitled to 



The Albatross. 31 

that of queen. Not so majestic as the eagle, 
it surpasses it in beauty, and is its superior in the 
agility and grace of its motions. One species is 
a creamy white, from which it receives its name. 
Others are of a beautiful glossy brown color, and 
white underneath. The feet are webbed, and 
they are duck-billed. Their wings are enormous 
in length. They vary in size, presenting a stretch 
of wing of from eight to twelve feet. While 
these huge birds are graceful almost as a swan, 
while sitting on the water or gliding over the 
waves, their most captivating appearance is when 
they have their broad pinions stretched to their 
utmost extent, and sail, apparently without the 
least effort, with grace and swiftness, through the 
air. We have often watched them for many 
minutes skimming in their rapid flight above the 
waves, sometimes mounting high in the air, and 
at others dipping down between the billows, fre- 
quently changing their direction, whirling in large 
circles and darting forward in straight lines, and 
during all this time we have not been able to 
detect the movement of a single muscle. 

We have plenty to keep our minds occupied, 
and a fine opportunity to rest and read. We 
have a daily Bible study, and three religious 
services on the Sabbath ; the first one consisting 
of the reading of the Protestant Episcopal serv- 



32 China and Japan. 

ice, by the captain. The question of the preced- 
ence given to this Protestant Episcopal service, 
insomuch that it must be read by an irreligious 
captain, and all hands mustered to attend the serv- 
ice, while five ordained ministers of other Christian 
Churches sit and hear, might admit of some re- 
flection. The only reason given is, "It is the 
rule of the company.'' However, in the after- 
noon we have our Bible study, and in the even- 
ing a sermon. By a wise arrangement, much 
time is spent every day, on shipboard, at the 
table, and our living, considering that we have 
no access to the daily markets, is very good. 
One interesting phenomenon of our journey is 
the dropping of a day, at the one hundred and 
eightieth degree of longitude from Greenwich. 
Up to that time we daily fell behind New York 
time until we had lost about six hours, making 
us twelve hours behind Greenwich time. We 
then take up the Asiatic day, jumping from 
Monday to Wednesday, and putting us about 
eighteen hours ahead of New York, or exactly 
twelve hours ahead of Greenwich time. When 
we get fairly to China we will be thus about 
twelve hours ahead of New York time, and our 
day will be the American night. As we come 
back we will pick up this lost day again, and all 
will be even. 



At Yokohama. 35 

Almost every body on a first ship voyage 
keeps a journal, and after the voyage is over 
is generally ashamed of it. As this is not my 
first voyage I am saved from that labor, but, in 
consequence, have few details to write, most of 
which, however, would be of little importance, 
if I had. But a single vessel has been seen by 
us on all our way, and that so far away on the 
horizon that we could make out nothing but her 
white sails. We only know by faith that there 
is any other world than sky and ocean. It seems 
strange to hear nothing by mail or paper or 
gossip for three weeks. It is a feeling somewhat 
as if the world had consented to stand still for a 
while — a feeling that arises not only from the 
absence of every thing but the far-away sky and 
deep sea, but from the stillness that is every- 
where around us. The world is so quiet now ; 
when we touch Yokohama it will wake up again, 
and all the noise and bustle and stir of life will 
be about us. 

October 3d. — We are sailing into the harbor 
of Yokohama. A beautiful ride of four hours 
takes us up the bay, on each side of which was 
the new, interesting scenery of Japan, very 
beautiful in itself, but made more charming by 
having seen no land for three weeks. On the 
one side of us is a smoking volcano ; on the 



36 China and Japan. 

other, the sublime Fuji-yama, an extinct vol- 
cano, a perfect cone, nearly thirteen thousand 
feet high, with its summit capped with snow, 
glistening in the sunbeams. It was one of the 
grandest sights I ever saw, and is the pride and 
glory of Japan. All along, on both sides of the 
bay, are strung the Japanese villages. At two 
o'clock we anchored in the bay of Yeddo, before 
Yokohama, a mixed city of foreign and Japan- 
ese life. We spent twenty-four hours here with 
Mr. Maclay and Mr. Correll, our missionaries 
in this city. We expect to spend some time 
on our way back, and make our visitation to 
Japan on our homeward way; so I will not write 
it up now. The most novel and the jolliest thing 
here was a ride in the jinrikisha, which, inter- 
preted, means " man-pull carriage," hence called 
sometimes by foreigners "the Pullman car of 
Japan," and which is about as near a very large 
two -wheeled baby -carriage as any thing I can 
think of. They are drawn by men, who trot 
along about as fast as we ordinarily drive in a 
pleasure ride. The ride of an hour in one of 
these, and which is really delightful, costs ten 
cents. 

Thursday, October 4th, about six o'clock P. M., 
we embarked by the steamer Tokio Mam, which 
is a fine side -wheel steamer of three thousand 



On the Coast of Japan. 37 

tons, one of a line of more than forty steamers 
belonging to the "Mitsu Bishi Company," a 
native Japanese company, over which the Japa- 
nese Government has large control. We had a 
pleasant sail of three hundred miles along the 
coast ; and then, on Saturday morning, reached 
Kobe, the port of entry for Ozaka. Kobe is 
almost a new town, and nearly all foreign ; the 
old or Japanese part of the town is Hiogo. It 
is beautifully situated at the base of a high range 
of mountains, contains fifty thousand inhabitants, 
and is very neat and clean, contrasting in this 
respect with Chinese towns. It is wonderful how 
many foreign ways and things have been already 
adopted by the Japanese. The government 
buildings, post-office, telegraph office, governor's 
home, etc., are very fine. Jihrikishas> draw T n by 
nearly naked men, are flying in every direction. 
The speed of these man-horses is remarkable ; and 
the movement of their limbs, too, bears a close 
resemblance to the movements of a thorough- 
bred horse in trotting. A fine narrow-gauge 
railroad runs from here to Kioto, about sixty 
miles, and telegraph lines to various parts of the 
country, all owned and managed by the govern- 
ment. The railroad is a model of neatness and 
completeness. It was built by the English, at 
very heavy expense, and with no attempt at 

3 



38 China and Japan. 

economy. Indeed, one can not help feeling 
that the inexperienced natives have been greatly 
imposed on by needless extravagance in all 
these public works. The cars are of fine, hard 
wood, about the size of street cars, doors in the 
sides, and of three classes — the first class quite 
a Pullman parlor car. The principal roadways 
cross the road on tunneled bridges of brick 
faced with stone. The depots are superior in 
style, and very neat and clean. The sides of the 
road are graded and sodded. 

We rode on it twenty miles to Ozaka, the 
"New York of Japan," a city of five hundred 
and sixty thousand registered inhabitants, with a 
neater depot than any in Cincinnati. It is a very 
fine city, on a river which intersects it in various 
directions. Hundreds of junks are anchored in 
the river. It is crossed by several excellent 
bridges, one of iron. The Mint is a fine build- 
ing ; so is the City Hall. A part of us dined at the 
Japanese Hotel, on seven courses, — an excellent 
dinner for fifty cents each; after which we rode 
two hours through the city, in about ten jinrik- 
is has, the admired of all admirers. It is a live 
city. We brought about one thousand tons of 
freight here, and carried six hundred tons away. 
Many of the Japanese now dress in foreign cloth- 
ing ; many of them can hardly be said to dress 



The Inland Sea. 41 

at all. There is a good corps of missionaries 
here at Ozaka, and also at Kobe. 

We left Kobe on Monday, October 8th, at 
four A. M., and sailed a day and night through 
the ''Inland Sea," than which I think nothing on 
earth can be more beautiful. Our course lay 
among more than a thousand islands, of every 
conceivable shape, some of them entirely bare, 
but most of them covered with the richest ver- 
dure, and nearly all cultivated and terraced to 
their very summits. All of them are mountain- 
ous, full of peaks and water -washed ravines. 
Towns and cities, some of them fortified, are 
seen hid away in every little bay. It has been 
like traveling through fairy land. The weather 
was beautiful and balmy as June. On Tuesday, 
the 9th, at daylight, we passed through a very 
narrow strait, and then anchored for three hours 
before Shimonoseki, the scene of a very unright- 
eous and needless battle between foreign ships 
and the native forts, a few years ago. The forts 
were demolished. This morning we passed the 
last of the clustered islands among which we 
have been sailing. It was the most beautiful of 
the group, a perfect little paradise, in the heart 
of which nestled a little town, as beautiful and 
peaceful as a New England village. O Japan, 
what wonderful things nature and the God of 



42 China and Japan. 

nature have done for thee! At nine o'clock P. 
M. we anchored at Nagasaki. 

Wednesday, October lotk. — The Bay of Na- 
gasaki lies before us, and all around it the city. 
For situation it is the perfection of beauty. 
Imagine the Ohio River to fill all the valley of 
Cincinnati, from the hills in the north to the 
hills of Kentucky, and all the hills around such 
a bay to be covered with tropical green, and 
cultivated and terraced to their very summits, 
while all around their bases spreads a strange 
city, and you have the scene that lies before us. 
About ten o'clock a heavy rain set in, and we 
could go about but little. We went ashore, 
however, and spent the day with Mr. Davison 
and wife, our only missionaries here. His home 
is on the hill-side, from which we have a fine 
view of the city and bay. Some fine foreign 
residences are here, and good public buildings. 
The population is about thirty thousand natives, 
and of foreigners about one hundred and fifty. 
It is one of the proud and aristocratic cities. 
The people are slow in their sympathy for for- 
eigners. Three missionary families are here — 
Methodist, American Reformed, and Church of 
England ; but they have not yet met with great 
success. This was headquarters for the govern- 
ment during the rebellion which has just now 



In the China Sea. 43 

been suppressed. On last Sunday the governor 
of the province was beheaded for unfaithfulness; 
to-day his successor died of cholera. 

On Thursday, the nth, we steamed out of 
the bay and harbor of Nagasaki, and immedi- 
ately found ourselves in a fierce gale, blowing 
outside; the gale and the very high sea kept up 
all day; all the party but myself were in bed, 
seasick — what a contrast with our sail through 
the inland sea! But such is human life, — always 
and every-where, mingled joy and sorrow. 

Friday y October \2tJ1. — High winds and seas 
have kept up all night. Our ship was tossed 
about on a stormy sea, creaking and groaning in 
every joint. The sunshine is bright to-day, and 
the wind and sea are fast going down. We have 
now been just a month at sea, and we are within 
a day's sail of Shanghai. 



II. 



jVom $Vai^ai to Peking. 



||||ATURDAY, October 13th.— Here we are, 
p^ at the mouth of the Woosung, twelve miles 
Ak from Shanghai, which we will reach in 
& about two hours. As we turned from the 
1 Yang-tsze-kiang into the Woosung, and 
" steamed slowly up the narrow and crooked 
river, we were impressed with the changes that 
twenty-five years had made. Then Shanghai was 
just becoming a port of foreign trade. A few infe- 
rior hongs and dwellings were stretched along the 
river, and the stream was literally crowded with 
native junks of all sizes and classes, with here 
and there only a sailing ship or two from foreign 
lands. Now every thing is changed. As we 
entered the river we saw a huge fortification, 
into the construction of which foreign ideas and 
foreign skill had largely entered. A little far- 
ther up the river was an arsenal, where natives, 
instructed and guided by foreigners, are manu- 
44 



Up the Woosung. 47 

facturing all kinds of large and small firearms. 
Near it is a ship-yard, where the natives are 
manufacturing steam and sailing vessels and gun- 
boats. Two fine, symmetrical gunboats, built 
entirely by Chinese, were lying here at anchor. 
As we ascend the river I see but few of the old, 
cumbersome junks, and notice that they have 
been displaced by steamships, many of them 
owned by the "Chinese Merchants' Steamship 
Company." The harbor now presents quite a 
foreign, instead of a Chinese, appearance. Along 
the banks of the river were beautiful villas; and 
when we reached the city, instead of the few 
bungalows and hongs of twenty-five years ago, 
there was a magnificent foreign city, with some 
as fine buildings as the eye could wish to see. 
To be sure, beyond this foreign city there was 
the old native Shanghai, shut up within its walls, 
as immovable, as noisy, as dirty as ever. But we 
expect to visit Shanghai several times yet before 
leaving Northern China, and will reserve what we 
have to say till we have seen more of it. 

When we reached the city we were welcomed 
and entertained by Rev. J. W. Lambuth, of the 
Methodist Church South Mission, a brother be- 
loved, to whom and his excellent wife most 
American travelers owe a great debt for their 
generous and hospitable attention and services 



48 China and Japan. 

rendered to them. We had but two days' stay 
in Shanghai at this time, and one of them was 
the Sabbath and the other was a rainy Monday. 
On Sabbath day we met many of the mission- 
aries and a pleasant congregation in Union 
Chapel, and preached to them. We spent most 
of the day on Monday riding about the new 
and foreign city, the famous jinrikishas hav- 
ing also been introduced here. Old Shanghai, 
within the walls, we did not enter, but learned 
that it is precisely the same crowded, filthy city 
that it was a score of years ago. There is a 
large missionary force in Shanghai, their work 
reaching far out into the interior. Of these mis- 
sionaries we will speak again. Our brethren of 
the Methodist Church South have a very pros- 
perous mission, whose headquarters are in this 
city. They have work in Shanghai, Kahding, 
Naziang, Wangdoo, Soo Chow, Fahuho, Sing- 
kyung, and Tsungsoo ; four foreign missionaries 
and six native preachers, four deacons and two 
elders, nine schools and the " Clopton Girls' 
Boarding School," with over a hundred children 
in their schools. 

On Monday evening, October 15th, we went 
on board the Chinese steamer Hae Shin ("sea 
gem"), one of a line of steamers which a Chinese 
company have purchased from Russell & Co., a 



An Act of Courtesy. 49 

very nice little propeller of about one thousand 
tons. Our missionary company was all the pas- 
sengers we had, and we had the whole neat little 
cabin to ourselves. It is worthy of being re- 
marked that when this company of native mer- 
chants purchased these ships and began running 
the line of vessels up and down the coast of 
China, and up the Yang-tsze-kiang River, they 
at once reduced the fare for all travel, and sent 
circulars to all the missionary families, offering 
to them a still further reduction of one-third on 
these already reduced rates for all the travel 
they wished on their vessels. It is evident from 
this that these more advanced Chinese appreciate 
the difference between missionaries and mer- 
chants, and comprehend, to a very considerable 
extent, the purposes for which these missionaries 
are in China. It might be well to remark, also, 
that the president of this Chinese company, al- 
though not a Christian, had in early life received 
much education and training under the hands of 
a missionary, Dr. Brown ; and probably these 
early influences had something to do in the gen- 
erous action induced by the president of the 
company. About four o'clock, Tuesday morn- 
ing, we got under way, and had a most delight- 
ful sail up the Chinese coast. 

All the way from the mouth of the Yang- 



So China and Japan 

tsze-kiang to Taku, at the mouth of the Peiho, 
the coast of North China is rocky and bold ; but 
this mountainous strip does not extend far into 
the interior. Immediately beyond it, through 
this same length of territory, stretches a great 
plain a thousand miles long, and as many wide, 
perhaps one of the largest sweeps of prairie land 
on the earth. The whole vast territory is subject 
to be overflowed by the rising of the two great 
rivers, the Yellow, and the Yang-tsze-kiang. It 
is through the region of this great plain, too, 
that there occur so frequently great droughts, 
and in consequence great famines. A terrible 
famine had been raging for two years, at the 
time of our visit. It is supposed that five mill- 
ions of people perished of starvation in the 
provinces of Shansi and Shantung. As we 
passed up the coast I was surprised to discover 
that the Yellow River had changed its place of 
embouchure into the ocean. Years ago it dis- 
charged its great volume of yellow, muddy water, 
into the Yellow Sea, a hundred miles below the 
great Shantung promontory; now it has cut out 
for itself a new channel, and empties into the 
Gulf of Pi-chi-li, a hundred miles north of the 
promontory. 

All along this northern coast, for seven hun- 
dred miles, are out-stations, where native or for 



Mission Stations on the Coast. 51 

eign missionaries are laboring. The Shantung 
promontory extends far out into the sea, and is 
a couple hundred miles in width. All over that 
region are mission out-stations, of the American 
Southern Baptist, American Presbyterian, and 
the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland. 
After rounding the promontory we reached the 
city of Chi-foo, a city made famous by the recent 
settlement there of the difficulty, growing out 
of the murder of Mr. Margery, an English Consul, 
and which is also a kind of Cape May, or Long 
Branch, for the merchants of Shanghai. It is 
also a great missionary center. The American 
Presbyterians, the United Presbyterians of Scot- 
land, the English Baptists, and the American 
Southern Baptists have flourishing missions here. 
We remained here only a few hours, and the 
same afternoon passed Tung-Chow, another im- 
portant missionary center. Our course thus lay 
along the Chinese coast for about six hundred 
miles, and my companions were constantly indi- 
cating to me missionary points and out-stations 
along the whole coast. The weather was de- 
lightful and the moon was full, so that this part 
of our journey was very pleasant. 

On Friday morning we reached the mouth of 
the Peiho River. Here w r e met "the bar," and 
had to be partially unloaded before our vessel 



52 China and Japan. 

could get over. While lying here, a heavy gale 
came up and we did not get over the bar till 
Saturday morning, when we entered the river at 
Taku, a city made famous by the battle, in which 
the French destroyed the native forts, and threat- 
ened Peking, and thus opened Northern China. 
While we were there the Chinese authorities 
were witnessing experiments with American tor- 
pedoes, being about to purchase some for the 
defense of the mouth of the river, — a very use- 
less expenditure of half a million of dollars. 

At eleven o'clock we started up the river, 
having fifty miles yet to Tientsin. It was a very 
pleasant sail through the narrow and winding 
river, running through the midst of the vast plain, 
reaching from the Peiho to the Yellow River. 
It was to me a new part of China, interesting 
from the different style of houses, of tombs, of 
products, and of modes of travel. About six 
o'clock in the evening we ran aground, and had 
to wait till four o'clock on Sunday morning for 
the tide, when we again got under way and came 
within five miles of Tientsin, when we grounded 
again. The water in the river is generally low 
at this season of the year, but now unusually so, 
because of the north-west wind which keeps the 
tide from flowing up. We have, therefore, the 
prospect of lying here an indefinite length of 



At Tientsin. S3 

time, waiting for the water to become deep 
enough to float us over this shallow reach, or 
seek some other method of completing the jour- 
ney. The latter alternative was adopted. Mr. 
Lowry, myself, and his two boys, hiring a don- 
key for each, made our way across the fields to 
our "mission compound." 

The day was a lovely one, and the ride, of a 
little more than an hour's duration (through 
fields of the peculiar cabbage of China, of gar- 
lic, and of millet, and among the unique mound- 
like tombs), brought us to the foreign settlement. 

On arriving, we found that Mr. Pyke, our 
missionary at Tientsin, had already gone down 
the river in a small boat, to meet and receive us, 
knowing that by this time we must be tired of 
steamer life. In a few hours after we reached 
Tientsin, he returned, and brought with him the 
ladies. On Monday morning another trip had 
to be made to the steamer for our baggage, for 
the steamer itself did not get to the wharf until 
Tuesday. Thus did the refusal of the govern- 
ment, either to improve, or to permit the im- 
provement of the navigation of this shallow and 
crooked stream, compel the Gem of the Ocean, 
one of their own steamers, to consume four days 
in making a distance of fifty miles. 

Tientsin is the great emporium for the north 



54 China and Japan. 

of China, as Canton is for the south. It extends 
for several miles on both sides of the river, on 
the banks of which are many quays and docks, 
with large public buildings, chief of which are 
the custom-house, warehouses and temples. The 
stores are handsome and well furnished, but the 
private houses are no ornaments to the streets, 
being built, as in all large Chinese cities in the 
north, within a court, inclosed by a brick Avail. We 
find here a busy scene. All the vessels of the 
"Chinese Merchants' Company' ' were engaged 
in hurrying up rice, to be conveyed from this 
port into the interior, to relieve the terrible fam- 
ine. Here we see the weakness of Chinese civ-, 
ilization. Tens of thousands of bags of rice 
were piled up on the docks, with no means but 
donkeys and donkey carts to convey any of it 
two hundred miles into the interior to touch the 
famine-stricken district. This was, in part, the 
cause of the great amount of suffering; not the 
lack of food, but the inability to convey it to 
the starving people. 

At Tientsin, we were done with all foreign 
things, and had to take to Chinese methods. 
We were then eighty miles by land, or one hun- 
dred and twenty by water from Peking, and had 
to take our choice between either mule carts by 
land, or Chinese boats by the river. We chose 



Up the Peiho. 55 

the boats; so we chartered five Chinese house- 
boats, each about thirty feet long and six broad, 
two-thirds of the length covered with boards 
and bamboo work, under which was a little room, 
six by eight feet to sit in, and another of about 
the same size to sleep in. One of these boats 
we used for our traveling dining hotel, in which 
we had our cooks and provisions. Each family 
had a boat, and we all took our meals, in true 
picnic fashion, on our dining boat. Thus, on 
Tuesday, accompanied by Mr. Pyke and family, 
and Mr. Lowry and family, who had been our 
companions all the way, we started for Tung 
Chow, one hundred and twenty miles away. We 
had to proceed under difficulties, for the adverse 
winds were so strong that for twenty-four hours 
we were still in sight of Tientsin, and it was not un- 
til Saturday morning that we were ready to leave 
the boats. For each boat we had four Chinese 
men for horses to pull us up the most winding 
river you ever saw. The wind continued heavy 
and ahead for three days, and we made very 
slow progress, but we got on very pleasantly. 
Except for the wind, the weather was clear and 
fine, the scenery was novel and interesting, our 
little boats were comfortable, we had plenty 
of time by day and night to read and to think, 
had good Chinese cooks, and a delightful time 



5 6 China and Japan. 

three times a day when we met together for 
our meals. 

The number of barges or junks continually 
passing up and down this busy stream is a proof 
of the wealth and populousness of the country, 
many of them being engaged in commerce, and 
many of them are government boats, employed 
chiefly in conveying to the capital grain and 
other produce of the land, collected from the 
people of the neighboring provinces, who pay 
their taxes or rents chiefly in kind. The junks 
are strongly built, and curve upward at each 
extremity, one end being much higher than the 
other. The sails are of matting, — sometimes of 
cotton — somewhat fan shaped, and fold up much 
like a fan. Great labor is required in setting 
them, as the Chinese have no proper machinery 
for that purpose, so that all their maneuvers in 
working a ship are performed by actual strength. 
Most sailors, with their families, live constantly 
on board the junks, having no other home on 
shore. As we were passing up the river we 
were pleased to see one striking evidence of a 
concession on the part of the Chinese: Li Hung 
Chang, the viceroy of the province of Chili, in 
which is situated the Capital City, Peking, passed 
us in a beautiful little steam barge, owned by 
himself, and kept for his own purposes of trav- 



A Leader in China. 



57 




LI HUKG CHANG. 



eling up and down the river. He is one of the 
most progressive men of China, and is cautiously 
and judiciously effecting important changes. We 
give a portrait of this man, undoubtedly the 
most influential and advanced mandarin in China. 
In putting down rebellions at home, or in mak- 
ing treaties with foreign nations, he is the man 
of all others on whom the government relies. 



58 China and Japan 

While believing that his own nation is capable 
of great things, he is at the same time deeply 
conscious of the power of Christian countries, 
and very much desires to fathom the secret of 
their greatness. Once when filled with admira- 
tion of the beauty and genius shown in some 
foreign instruments, he exclaimed, "How won- 
derful! How comes it that such inventions and 
discoveries are always foreign ?" 

On account of head winds, and a strong cur- 
rent against us, most of our way had to be 
"tracked" by human horses. Four men at the 
end of a long rope pulled us nearly the whole 
length of the way, and from Friday morning till 
Saturday morning pulled in one continuous stretch 
for twenty-four hours, except when they stopped 
for their meals and their tea. At length, by 
hard and steady pulling, they brought us to 
Tungchow, one hundred and twenty miles from 
Tientsin, about daylight, Saturday morning. 

Here we found a warm welcome from mission- 
ary friends, unloaded our baggage, and packed it 
on the peculiar wheelbarrows of North China, got 
a good dinner, and at one o'clock, in a cavalcade 
of carts, wheelbarrows, chairs, and one pony, we 
started for Peking. I had the honor of riding 
the pony, but found, before I had finished the 
fourteen miles, that in this case, as in all others, 



Tung Chow to Peking. 



59 




A NATIVE ON THE PEIHO. 



I was paying dearly for the honor. The prin- 
cipal road between Tung Chow and Peking, is a 
government highway, built many hundred years 
ago. It is broad, bordered on each side, in 
many places, by trees of immense size, and 
paved with large, flat stones. The pavement is 
in the middle of the road, instead of at the 
sides, as with us, which is easily accounted for 
by the rarity of wheel carriages, even in long 
journeys. The natives say of this famous road 
that it was the delight of one century, and the 
curse of all centuries since. The government 



60 China and Japan 

pays no attention to keeping the road in any 
kind of order. In consequence, the large flag- 
ging stones are smooth, broken, many of them 
out of place, and all of them greatly worn ; so 
that it is almost impossible to pass over the way 
in a wheel vehicle. 

On account of this, we turned aside from 
the public way and took by ways through the 
country, presenting to us a pleasant and inter- 
esting ride. About five o'clock in the evening 
we caught sight of the great walls of Peking, 
and, in a little while, entered through the south- 
eastern gate into the ancient capital of China. 
This is the extreme end of our journey, and 
when we leave here, in about ten days, our 
course will lie in the homeward direction. On 
Sabbath morning, we attended a very pleasant 
service in the Chinese chapel, when Mr. Lowry 
preached to about one hundred natives. At 
night I preached in the "Union Chapel/' to 
about all the foreigners that are here. 

When I retired to my room that Sunday night, 
and realized that I was within the venerable capi 
tal of China, of which I had read and thought 
so much, but which I had never hoped to see, 
and that I was surrounded by a goodly band of 
missionaries, peacefully and safely sowing the 
seeds of the Redeemer's kingdom, I could not but 



In' the Great City. 6i 

exclaim — how great things has God wrought in 
so short a time! Twenty-five years before, my 
most sanguine dreams could not have reached 
the thought that in this brief time missionary 
stations would be established along the north- 
ern coast of China from the Yang-tse to the 
head of the Gulf of Pi-chi-li, and that the minis- 
ters of Christ would be building chapels within 
the " Imperial City," and establishing schools 
within the shadow of the Imperial residence it- 
self. But here it is, a realized fact; and from 
this great center the "Glad Tidings" are sound- 
ing forth through nearly all Northern China. 





III. 




Oul c ]\foftl\ C^iifa Minion. 

OCTOBER 27th, which was Saturday, we 
reached Peking, and appointed Tuesday, 
the 30th, for our annual meeting. On 
Monday, we visited various parts of the 
city, and on Tuesday, the 30th, just twenty 
days behind the time we had appointed 
we organized the annual meeting. The work we 
are doing in the North China mission was re- 
ported as follows : Peking is divided into two 
stations, the Tartar and Chinese cities. For the 
last two years Mr. Walker has been operating in 
the Tartar city. In this part of the city is our 
mission compound," consisting of two pieces 
of property, on the oldest of which is built, 
first, two moderately fair, one-story brick resi- 
dences, in one of which lives Mr. Walker, and 
in the other, Mr. Pilcher. Secondly, the girls' 
boarding-school, and the residence, belonging to 

the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, under 
62 



North China Mission. 6$ 

the direction of Miss Campbell. Miss Porter, her 
co-laborer, was on her way back to China. We 
met her, at Shanghai, on our return. Thirdly, 
our domestic chapel, a very pleasant, good-sized 
building, used for the more private and orderly 
services of the Church members. It is all that 
is needed, except that it ought to have a board 
floor instead of a brick one. On the second 
piece of property, unfortunately separated from 
the first by two or three intervening Chinese 
properties, we have, first, a very comfortable 
and well built brick residence, occupied by Mr. 
Davis. Secondly, a neat and pleasant home and 
comfortable hospital and dispensary, hitherto oc- 
cupied by Miss Combs, M. D., but now delivered 
over to Miss Howard, M. D., Miss Combs being 
removed to Kiukiang. This last property be- 
longs to the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. 
Our property is thus in Peking, three chapels, 
$6,500; three parsonages, $14,000; Woman's 
Foreign Missionary buildings, $9,500. 

Mr. Walker reported seventy-eight in his 
Sabbath-school, nine boys in the day-schools, 
nineteen members, eleven probationers, and five 
baptized during the year. He organized this 
year, the first board of stewards and the first quar- 
terly conference. Te Jui has been the native 
assistant, and they have had a good year. 



64 China and Japan 

The Chinese city has been in the charge 
of Mr. Davis. In this city, we have a miserable 
substitute for a chapel, because the authorities 
will not allow us to build one. We have been 
holding possession here, however, and have had 
almost daily preaching for five years. It is a 
hard location, and yet we are hopeful of victory 
some day. Mr. Davis thinks he finds increasing 
friendship of the natives, but increasing hostility 
of the officials and gentry. The average congre- 
gation is about twenty; there are nine boys in 
the school, eight members of the Church here, 
and three baptized children. This is the only 
chapel of any kind, in the southern city, and 
meets with much opposition. Chen Ta Yung, 
a native local preacher, had been laboring here. 

Tientsin was reported by Mr. Pyke, who has 
had charge there for three years. This I look 
upon as a very important missionary point, a city 
of, perhaps, a hundred thousand population, and 
of considerable foreign interest. It is the head 
of navigation for vessels of much size, and is, 
therefore, the entrepot for Peking and all North 
China. Many Chinese, from all parts of North 
China, come here. It is occupied by the Amer- 
ican Board, with two families and a single man ; 
by the London Missionary Society, by two fami- 
lies ; by the English new connection Methodists, 



Progress in North China. 67 

with four families ; and by us, with one family. 
The New Connection Methodists have two good 
properties, for residence and schools. We have 
a fine compound, about three hundred by two 
hundred feet, with one good home on it. As 
soon as possible, there should be another house 
built here, and another family from Peking put 
into it ; while a new man should be sent to Pe- 
king. To re-enforce Tientsin, is the most press- 
ing need that I saw in North China. There is a 
pretty fair chapel within the city walls, where 
service is kept up every day. We have fifteen 
members and twelve probationers. The work 
here is prosperous and hopeful. 

Our brethren have not been idle in spreading 
out into the country, having some appointments 
as much as four hundred miles away from Peking, 
reaching up north to the great wall, and south 
into the province of Shantung. This country 
work, especially in the south, is very promising. 
There seems to be a real giving way of all the 
people of these more interior regions. All our 
missionaries take their part in this intinerant 
work. Other societies are also doing a good 
work in those provinces lying about the Yellow 
River ; so that there are now one thousand two 
hundred and forty-eight native members reported 
in North China. A good report was given of the 



68 China and Japan 

woman's work by Misses Combs, Campbell, and 
Howard. 

In the afternoon of October 30th, we had a 
Sunday-school anniversary of all the Sunday- 
schools in Peking. About one hundred and 
thirty children were present, and about one hun- 
dred adults. The exercises consisted of singing 
and a lesson on the blackboard. It was a beauti- 
ful, interesting, and suggestive occasion, under 
the direction of Mr. Pilcher. During this annual 
meeting, four new men were licensed to preach : 
First, Wen Yung, a very promising man, who 
stood ninety-five in his examination ; second, 
Wang Cheng Pei, who stood a hundred in the 
examination on the first three books of the Old 
Testament, and first two of the New Testament, 
but his character was held, for quite a time, on 
the subject of ancestral worship. No one can 
imagine the depth and intensity of the hold of 
this ancestral worship on the Chinese mind. He 
promises well for the future. Third, Shang Ching 
Yuen, examination ninety; and, fourth, Wang 
Ching Yuen, examination ninety-five. I was 
most favorably impressed with the character, the 
piety, and the attainments of all these men. 

On Saturday afternoon, after a sacramental 
service, conducted by Mr. Lowry, we read out 
the appointments for the year. On Sabbath 



Missionary Results. 69 

morning the annual sermon in Chinese was 
preached by Mr. Pyke, after which Te Jui and 
Chen Ta Yung, previously elected by the North 
Indiana Conference, were ordained deacons. 
These are two excellent men. The first is brill- 
iant and scholarly; the second is solid, and rich 
in good sense. They are the first ordained men 
of our North China Mission. May God keep 
them faithful ! 

The following are the statistics of our North 
China Mission : Missionaries, 5 ; Assistant Mis- 
sionaries, 5 ; Woman's Foreign Missionary Soci- 
ety, 4 ; preachers on trial, 2 ; licensed preachers, 
4; exhorter, 1; total agents, 21 ; members, 59; 
probationers, 87; total, 146; baptisms, 17; deaths, 
2; baptized children, 14; girls' boarding school, 
I ; pupils, 17; boys' schools, 2; pupils, 18; Sab- 
baths chools, 3 ; scholars, 118 ; chapels, 5 ; value, 
$6,500; parsonages, 4; value, $19,000; Woman's 
Foreign Missionary school building and home, 
$4,000; hospital and house, $5,500. 

I need hardly speak of the importance of our 
North China Mission, in its relation to the evan- 
gelization of China. Its center of operations is 
in Peking, the venerable capital of the empire, 
rich in its history and traditions, and powerful 
in its influence over the whole country. Of 
course, it is full of national pride and prejudice, 

5 



70 China and Japan. 

and the work must be more slow in its progress, 
but eventually more powerful in its influence 
over the other parts of the country. From this 
center our work has radiated nearly to the Great 
Wall on the north and east, and to the Yellow 
River in the south. The language that our mis- 
sionaries are learning and using enables them to 
address one hundred millions of people. They 
are now able to preach in the language with ease 
and impressiveness. They are devoted men and 
women, in whom the Church may repose the 
utmost confidence ; and they have all met with 
a degree of success beyond what we had a right 
to expect from the few years that they have been 
working in this part of China. The other great 
missionary societies of the world are well repre- 
sented in Peking. The London Missionary So- 
ciety, the American Board, the Presbyterian 
Church, the Church of England, the Protestant 
Episcopal, are here in strong force. Many of 
the missionaries are old, experienced men, having 
come from other parts of the work — some of 
whom, in scholarship and ability, will take rank 
with the ablest ministers of the world. Our 
missionaries must act wisely and cautiously in 
all their work in and about Peking, as they are 
there only by sufferance, and probably, on a 
strict rendering, have no real treaty rights to be 



Appointments. 7 1 

in the city ; but we can safely trust our interests 
in their hands. Our force in this mission ought 
to consist steadily of six families, four in Peking 
and two in Tientsin. We lack yet one family, 
and the work is undoubtedly suffering for want 
of it. 

The following are the appointments for 1878 : 
H. H. Lowry, Superintendent; Peking — Tartar 
City, W. F. Walker, Te Jui ; Chinese City, L. 
W. Pilcher, Chen Ta Yung ; Tientsin, H.- H. 
Lowry; Tsunhua Chow Circuit, supplied by Wen 
Yung ; Tsang Chow Circuit, J. H. Pyke, Wang 
Cheng Yuen ; Nankung Circuit, Shang Cheng 
Yuen ; Tai-an-fu Circuit, G. R. Davis, Wang 
Cheng Pei ; Girls' Boarding School and Women's 
Work, Misses M. Q. Porter and L. S. Campbell; 
Medical Department, Miss L. S. Howard, M. D. 




IV. 




¥l}e City of Peking. 

|EKING disappoints the expectations of the 
visitor. He has read so much about it, 
from the glowing descriptions of Marco 
Polo to the statistical tables of recent mis- 
sionaries, that it has grown on his imagi- 
nation as to size, magnificence, and beauty, 
so that his expectations are high when he first 
catches sight of its ancient walls. But the en- 
chantment is instantly broken when he discovers 
that the words, great, magnificent, beautiful, etc., 
are not filled with the same ideas as when we 
use them in the West ; and yet what other words 
can we use? And so this very chapter, like 
all others, will go on its mission conveying a 
wrong impression, while intending to be very 
truthful. 

First, then, the disappointment lies in the 
fact that it is not so large as you supposed, is 

not nearly so populous as is generally thought, 

72 



Bad Government. 73 

and all its walls, buildings, and homes give evi- 
dence of terrible neglect and consequent decay, 
and in many places ruin. In fact, about two 
hundred and thirty years ago, the Manchu Tar- 
tars found here a magnificent city of palaces, 
temples, public buildings, parks, walls, etc., which 
they took possession of, and to which they have 
added scarcely any thing, but have allowed al- 
most every thing to fall into decay, and to be- 
come covered with filth ; and for the last thirty 
years the government has been in the hands of 
minors, ruled over by regents, mothers, and 
mothers-in-law, who, with the whole official corps 
of the empire, seem bent only on enriching 
themselves from the spoils of the people. The 
same thirty years have also been characterized 
by great distress, famines, floods, rebellions, and 
foreign wars ; so that the capital, and most other 
parts of the empire, give evidence of impover- 
ishment. Still, in many respects Peking is one 
of the most interesting cities in the world, as it 
is, perhaps, the oldest existing capital on the 
globe. 

It first appears in B. C. 1121, under the name 
Chi. In the fifth century, B. C, it was the cap- 
ital of a small kingdom, called Yen, and hence 
called Yenking. It was destroyed in B. C. 221, 
under the reign of Shih-Hwang-Ti, but was soon 



74 China and Japan. 

rebuilt, and in the fourth century, A. D., became 
the capital of a small Tartar state. Then it be- 
came the chief city of a department, under Chi- 
nese government, and again assumed its old name 
of Chi or Yen. In 936 A. D. it was again taken 
by the Kitan Tartars, and was made again the 
capital of their state, till the fall of their dy- 
nasty, under "the Golden Horde," or Kin Tar- 
tars, in 1 125, who gave it the name of Chung-tu, 
or Yenking, the wall of which is still traceable 
near the south-west corner of the present city. 
The Kin dynasty gave way before the all - con- 
quering Mongols, under the famous Zenghis 
Khan, in 121 5, and Yenking was degraded to a 
subordinate city. But the grandson of the great 
conqueror, Kublai Khan, made it his capital, 
and built the new city, and called it Khan Baligh, 
"the City of the Khan?'' This is the great city 
so grandly and so truthfully described by Marco 
Polo, under the name of Kambalu. It must have 
been then, in its newness, a magnificent city, of 
great wealth and beauty. It is remarkable how 
many of the statements of Polo, supposed for 
a long time to be extravagant dreams, are being 
verified by the better opportunities for observa- 
tion which have been furnished during the past 
few years. It was larger in its walls, especially 
longer, than the present city, the remains of the 



The Manchu Conquerors. 77 

ancient northern wall being traceable a little 
more than a mile north of the present wall. 
From this date the greater part of the present 
palaces and public buildings have their origin, 
having changed very little, and the succeeding 
dynasties contenting themselves with keeping 
them from falling into actual ruin ; hence the 
appearance of great age and universal decay. 

The Ming dynasty succeeded the Mongols in 
1368, and removed the capital to Nanking, 
where it remained* till 1409, when Yung-Lo 
transferred it again to Pei Ching, "the Northern 
Capital/' from which we get Peking, through 
the Jesuits. He repaired and rebuilt the public 
buildings from the neglect of half a century, and 
rebuilt the present walls, shortening the east and 
west walls by more than a mile. In 1544 the 
southern suburbs, which had been growing since 
the conquest of the Mongols, were inclosed by 
another wall, and became "the Southern City." 
The Manchus took possession in 1644, the con- 
querors taking the Northern City, and assigning 
the Southern City to the Chinese. As we have 
said, but little has been done in public building 
and in repairs by the Manchus, except by the 
most famous of them all, the great Kang-Hi, 
some of whose monuments still remain. The 
city consists really of four walled cities: the 



78 China and Japan. 

southern, called the Chinese City, with walls about 
five and one-half miles long and two and a half 
wide; the northern, or Tartar City, with walls 
four miles long and about three miles wide; then 
within this northern city is the "'Imperial City," 
and within this Imperial City is the ' ' Forbidden 
City," or place of the palaces and imperial of- 
fices. Into this last a foreigner never enters, 
and indeed he is not a welcome guest anywhere 
within the "Imperial City." The whole city cov- 
ers an area of twenty-five square miles, and has a 
population of about one million. It lies in 39 
56' north latitude and 116 28' east longitude, in 
a vast plain, with mountains in the distance, 
north and west, and partly to the east. The 
climate is excellent, the temperature ranging 
about the same as that at Philadelphia. The 
walls of the Northern City are forty feet high, 
fifty feet thick at the base and thirty feet at the 
top, strengthened at small distances by heavy 
brick buttresses. In this city there are nine 
gates, each surrounded by a semicircular enceinte, 
of the same height and thickness as the walls, 
and both the inner and outer gates covered by 
towers nearly a hundred feet high. This wall 
and these towers must have been very grand and 
imposing about a hundred years ago, but they 
are all much neglected and dilapidated now. 



The Tartar City. 79 

The Tartar city contains the residences of the 
grandees of the court, the halls of the "six 
tribunals," the Hanlin College, several superb 
temples, a Mohammedan mosque, two Roman 
Catholic cathedrals, and many other public build- 
ings. The principal streets are long and wide, 
and contain numerous shops, as well as private 
houses, the private houses nearly all being hid 
away behind high walls. The streets are not 
paved, which is a great inconvenience . in wet 
weather, and from the clouds of dust which arise 
a great annoyance when the weather is dry. An 
abortive attempt is made to light some of them, 
by erecting, here and there, posts, on the top 
of which are semi-transparent paper lanterns, in- 
side of which, are burning candles, making about 
light sufficient to make the darkness visible. As 
but few people are found abroad after dark, un- 
less on particular occasions, it is not of much 
importance that the streets should be lighted, 
particularly as any one who is obliged to go out, 
and every vehicle, must carry a lantern. Large 
spaces of ground in this part of Peking are 
occupied by ornamental gardens, belonging to 
rich mandarins, and as these courts are always 
surrounded by high walls you feel as if every 
thing in Peking was walled up. 

In the northern part of the imperial city, and 



80 China and Japan. 

partly surrounding the forbidden city, is a beau- 
tiful lake, a mile and a half in length, and more 
than a quarter of a mile in breadth, crossed by 
a bridge of nine arches, constructed entirely of 
white marble. In the Summer this lake is cov- 
ered with the magnificent lotus, or water-lily, and 
presents a most beautiful appearance. Its banks 
are bordered with trees, among which the droop- 
ing willow bends it graceful branches. In the 
midst of the lake is an island, adorned with a 
temple and an elegant pagoda, the never-failing 
ornaments of Chinese scenery. The view from 
the center of the marble bridge, in all directions, 
is exceedingly interesting and beautiful, except 
that on all of it is the appearance of neglect 
and decay. Rising from the top of a hill, in 
one direction, is a singularly shaped monument, 
erected, magnanimously, by the conquering Man- 
chus, to the memory of the last emperor of the 
Ming dynasty. When the Manchus had entered 
the city, and the case had become hopeless on 
the part of the Chinese, the Ming emperor, with 
his daughter, escaped from the palace, within 
the forbidden city, and fled to a building on the 
top of this hill, and there took the life of his 
daughter and killed himself. So passed away 
the last of the Chinese emperors. Some histo- 
rians, however, insist that the wounds inflicted 



Gardens and Flowers. 8i 

on the daughter were not mortal, and that she 
escaped, and was afterwards married, and her de- 
scendants are still found in China. 

Peking is, therefore, by no means devoid of 
natural beauties, and even the old Chinese town, 
which is the commercial part of the capital, con- 
tains large gardens and fields, where vegetables 
are grown for the daily supply of the markets, 
and also many nursery grounds, where flowers 
are cultivated expressly for the adorning of the 
ladies of Peking, who wear them in their hair. 
This simple and elegant mode of decorating the 
hair is generally adopted in all parts of China, 
and when natural flowers are not to be obtained, 
artificial ones, of exquisite manufacture, are sub- 
stituted, and a female head is seldom seen with- 
out the one or the other, which, among the 
higher classes, are mixed with golden bod- 
kins, jewels, and other ornaments. The tem- 
ples in this part of the capital are very magnifi- 
cent, especially those dedicated to heaven and 
agriculture. 

The surroundings of the Tartar city are under 
the control of the general of the nine gates, 
whose headquarters lie about half-way between 
the imperial city and the northern wall, and who 
is made especially responsible for the peace and 
good order of the Tartar city. The post is con- 



82 China and Japan. 

ferred only on Manchus, and is regarded as a 
high office. Near this point, standing in the 
avenue leading to the north gate, is a high tower, 
containing an immense bell and drum, which are 
struck to announce the night watches. The 
edifice that covers it is one of the most conspic- 
uous objects seen in approaching the capital, 
being higher even than the towers over the gate- 
ways. The huge bell is about eighteen feet 
high, eight feet in diameter, and more than a foot 
in thickness. It weighs one hundred and twenty 
thousand pounds. Its whole exterior surface is 
covered with raised Chinese characters. 

The streets of Peking are crowded, noisy, 
and bustling; for there, as in all other cities of 
China, it is quite customary for men of the lower 
orders to work at their several trades in the 
streets, where they sit with their tools around 
them, as if they were in a workshop, — cobblers, 
tinkers, and blacksmiths set up their establish- 
ment wherever they obtain a job, and worse than 
all, even butchers perform their office of slaugh- 
tering animals in the very streets. Medicine ven- 
ders, who are generally fortune-tellers also, estab- 
lish themselves, with their compounds arranged 
in order before them, in any convenient locality. 
There are also a great number of peddlers, 
ballad-singers, and mountebanks, who contribute 



Street Sights. 85 

no less to the noise than to the throng. Every 
here and there an auctioneer, on the side of the 
street-way, is calling out to the- crowd around 
him, and to the passers-by, selling his. goods. 
Their method is very different from ours, the 
auctioneer himself being the bidder. Instead 
of asking, how much will you bid for this article, 
he says, will you bid so much, and then con- 
tinues falling from his highest price, till he finds 
some one who will bid at the price he names. 
Among the most remarkable persons who exer- 
cise their callings in the public streets are the 
barbers, who are all licensed, and who shave the 
heads and plait the tails of their customers, with 
the utmost gravity, in the open air. All the 
men of the lower orders, as well as some of the 
higher classes, have these operations performed 
in the street. 

All the shops and stores have open fronts, 
gayly painted and ornamented, and above the 
door of each is a wooden pillar, covered with gilt 
characters, describing the nature of the goods 
sold within ; and as these sign-posts are often 
decorated with gay streamers, floating from the 
top, they might be compared to a line of ship 
masts, with colors flying. Near the northern 
gate of the northern city, there is constantly pre- 
sented a busy and exciting scene. Through this 



86 China and Japan. 

gate are brought the animals used in the city, 
and a great many articles of trade — donkeys, 
sheep, camels, wheelbarrows, carts, in great pro- 
fusion, are found crowding about the gate, and 
flowing up the wide street which leads from it. 
The windows of all the houses in Peking are 
made of semi-transparent paper, very frequently 
of a rose color, and held by a frame-work of 
bamboo ; for there is yet no window glass in 
northern China. 

The houses in Peking are seldom more than 
one story in height, except the store buildings 
immediately along the street way. They have 
flat roofs, which are often covered with flowers 
and shrubs. As there are no fire-places, so 
there are no chimneys, the rooms being warmed 
by pans of lighted charcoal, of which fuel great 
quantities are brought from Tartary on camels, 
and these animals are constantly seen thus laden 
in the streets of the city. The sleeping arrange- 
ments are generally a raised dais on one side of 
the room, with tile covering, . underneath which 
a fire is kindled in the Winter, and on the top 
of which is spread the bedding, usually consist- 
ing of a large, quilted cotton coverlet, in which 
the sleeper rolls himself up, resting his head on a 
round piece of wood, or, in better circumstances, 
on a peculiarly shaped leather pillow. Large 



The Forbidden City. 87 

quantities of bituminous coal, in later days, are 
also brought into the city, from the mines in the 
north-west, by the camels. 

The imperialpalace at Peking is a vast assem- 
blage of buildings, both large and small, built 
within a variety of courts, among which they are 
dispersed, along with pavilions, porticoes, and 
canals, and the detached buildings are connected 
by galleries and covered passages. The roofs 
of all the imperial buildings are covered with 
tiles of yellow porcelain, giving an effect, when 
the sun shines upon them, of burnished gold. 
Extensive gardens are annexed to the royal hab- 
itation, and the whole being inclosed within a 
substantial brick wall it is more like a city than 
a palace. The wall has small towers at the an- 
gles and over each gate, and is surrounded on all 
sides by a moat. The gardens and pleasure 
grounds attached to the palace are said to be 
most beautiful. The hills are embellished with 
lofty trees, which encircle retreats and summer- 
houses dedicated to pleasure and retirement. 
Stores of every thing necessary for use or orna- 
ment, during war or peace, are kept within the 
palace walls, and workmen and artificers of every 
description are resident, and constantly employed 
within its precincts. Beyond the moat on the 
north side of the forbidden city is a hill, gen- 



88 China and Japan. 

erally known as " Prospect " or "Coal Hill," 
which is surrounded by a wall, entered by nu- 
merous gates. It is said by some to be really a 
vast accumulation of coal, placed there by the 
government to meet the emergencies of a time 
of siege. It is, however, covered over with turf 
and grass and trees, making a beautiful pleasure 
garden. 

The southern city has only six gates, the 
southern wall of the northern city, forming in 
part the northern wall of the Chinese city. 
Within the northern city are all the great pal- 
aces, temples, monuments, etc., except what, to 
me, was the most interesting and beautiful of 
them all, the famous "Temple of Heaven," and 
also the Hall of Agriculture, both situated near 
the southern wall of the Chinese city. 

But little general business is done within the 
Tartar city, the great burden of trade being con- 
fined to the Chinese city. When we enter into 
this part of Peking, we come more nearly to the 
characteristics usually found in other cities of 
China, the northern city being influenced in 
almost all respects by the presence of the Man- 
chu Tartars. The streets in the Chinese city are 
much narrower and much more irregular. The 
houses are rarely more than one story above the 
ground-floor, the front part of the building being 



Trade of Peking. 89 

always appropriated to the store or the shop. 
Hence as you pass through these narrow and 
crooked streets you find almost all objects ex- 
posed to your view. In one part of this southern 
city is the general market, in which are thou- 
sands of slaughtered sheep hung up, great quan- 
tities of dried mutton, and innumerable quantities 
of dried and smoked chickens and ducks. In 
another part of the southern city is the mart for 
the fur trade. Immense quantities of furs of all 
kinds, descriptions, and values are spread out 
on the ground, making literally two great fields 
of fur. Nearly all of this is brought from Mon- 
golia, Manchuria, and some varieties from Thibet. 
They are very low in prices, and if it were not 
for the duties at both ends of the line, and the 
great cost of freightage, might be brought into 
this country and sold at very low figures. An 
extensive trade is carried on with Thibet, Mon- 
golia, and Manchuria, far off beyond the great 
wall, and great droves of camels start out from 
here loaded with brick-tea to traverse the deserts 
and cross the mountains lying between here and 
Russia. The brick-tea is prepared especially for 
the Russian trade. It is the ordinary tea steamed 
and moistened, and then subjected to immense 
pressure until it becomes very solid and is packed 
away in packages of about fourteen inches in 



90 China and Japan 

length, and twelve inches in depth — a very con- 
venient form of packing them for carriage by the 
camels. The tea is used by the Russians, not as 
a drink, as among us, but is prepared into a 
kind of soup. Men engaged in this trade with 
Russia, and Tartary, and Thibet, in teas and furs, 
often make great fortunes. The trade in litera- 
ture is also lucrative; some of the finest stores 
in Peking are the book-stores. The literati form 
among themselves the aristocratic class, and are 
really the class most prejudiced against the for- 
eigner, and most in opposition to the introduc- 
tion of Christianity. 





Publk Building of Pekii^. 

»E must now describe, in what must neces- 
sarily be a very imperfect manner, some 
of the scenes of the city of Peking. A 
fine bird's-eye view of the entire city may 
be had from the top of the wall separa- 
ting the Tartar and the Chinese cities. 
Facing the north, you immediately observe the 
division of the Northern city into its three parts, 
the Tartar, the Imperial, and the Forbidden 
City. Within the Forbidden City you observe 
the roofs of the imperial palaces, temples, and 
pavilions, all of them covered with yellow tiles, 
and see plain indications that the grounds within 
the walls are finely arranged and beautifully 
ornamented. In all parts of the city you see 
high, symmetrical, and many of them beautiful, 
pagodas, rising far above the roofs of the houses 
and the tops of the wall. Projecting above the 
western wall, on your right hand, you observe 

9* 



92 China and Japan. 

the place of the ancient " Observatory/ ' Not 
far from this, to the left, you discover a large 
low space of flat-roofed buildings, covering a 
territory of more than two acres, and which con- 
stitute the Examination Halls for the final exami- 
nation for the third literary degree. Not far 
from this you see again the roofs and grounds 
of the Confucian temple. To the left of this, 
is the "National Academy." Beyond this you 
see the rising spire of the Roman Catholic Ca- 
thedral. The complete circuit of the wall is be- 
fore your eyes, the towers rising a hundred feet 
above it, and the vast gates are distinctly visible. 
Turning southward, the great Chinese city is 
stretched out before you. Away off at its south- 
ern extremity, you discover the extensive grounds 
and magnificent buildings of the "Temple of 
Heaven," and to the right of this the "Hall of 
Agriculture." Almost at your feet is another 
Catholic building, usually called the Portuguese 
Church. 

Descending into the city our first visit was to 
the famous "Observatory," consisting of a court 
and brick towers leaning against the western wall 
of the Tartar city, and slightly overtopping the 
wall in height. It is venerable in age, being 
mentioned by Marco Polo in the thirteenth cen- 
tury, and was probably founded and built under 



The Observatory. 93 

the direction of the Persian astronomers under 
Kublai Khan. It is nearly certain that the first 
elements of astronomy were introduced into China 
by these Persian astronomers. It was at one time 
thought that the astronomical records, reaching 
far back into the past, were a demonstration 
of the great antiquity of the Chinese people. 
Astronomical events, eclipses of the sun and 
moon etc., were recorded as having occurred 
thousands of years ago. But it is now generally 
believed that the Chinese, when first instructed 
in the methods of making these astronomical 
calculations, and especially of calculating the 
times of eclipses, were so greatly delighted with 
their new found power that they calculated the 
occurrence of eclipses far back into the past, 
and far forward into the future, exercising their 
new found skill in mathematical astronomy. 

The Observatory was enlarged, and several 
new instruments were added by the Jesuits, 
under Father Verbiest, in 1674, during the reign 
of the great Manchu emperor, Kang-Hi. The 
large and very fine bronze azimuth instrument, 
on the top of the towers, was a present from 
Louis the XIV of France to Kang-Hi. There 
are in the court and on the towers some very 
excellent instruments, all wonderfully unique in 
their ornamentation, all made of bronze of so 



94 China and Japan. 

excellent a quality that they have stood centu- 
ries of exposure without damage. A very beau- 
tiful and massive bronze celestial globe on the 
top of the towers seems to be invulnerable to 
any attacks of the elements. Two planispheres 
and an astrolabe, in the court below, are very 
grotesque in their supports by the universal 
Chinese dragon, three huge bronze dragons sup- 
porting each of the instruments. The Observa- 
tory has long been disused, though the instru- 
ments are still left in place, and by a gracious 
indulgence, may be visited, but not touched by 
foreigners. 

There is said to be another Observatory within 
the forbidden city, where all necessary observa- 
tions for the Imperial almanac are made. This 
almanac is not only Imperial in name, but Impe- 
rial in all rights, and is a great monopoly of the 
government. No astronomical books or calcula- 
tions are allowed to be issued apart from this 
almanac, and much of the prestige of the ruling 
powers among the common people arises from 
the wonderful fact that within the Imperial pal- 
ace is found sufficient knowledge to arrange the 
seasons, distribute the year, and foretell to a 
minute the coming of eclipses of the sun and 
moon. 

Not far from the Observatory is the great 



Foreign Education. 95 

" Examination Hall," consisting of a vast num- 
ber of cells and avenues, into which the students 
from all parts of the empire enter for the great 
"triennial examinations" for literary honors. 
They are literally cells, small, damp, cheerless, 
in which the candidates remain from two to five 
days, their food being carried to them, and their 
theses being furnished to them after entering the 
cells. We can not now enter into the great lit- 
erary system of China, in some respects the 
grandest, but in most respects the poorest, of 
national systems. 

Near this, in the same part of the city, is the 
Tungwen College, or the ' ' Imperial College for 
United Education," now under the presidency 
of our old-time friend, Dr. W. A. P. Martin, an 
American missionary of twenty - seven years' 
standing in China. This college is the first grand 
concession to foreign science and learning made 
by the government, and is an important and 
promising institution, the West Point of China, 
in which the students are cadets, paid and sup- 
ported by the government, to which all owe 
their services for a term of years after gradua- 
tion. There are now in it one hundred students. 
The number in the institution is limited by the 
fact that they are on government pay, and train- 
ing for government service. They are all young 



g6 China and Japan. 

men, from the age of eighteen to twenty-four. 
The school is under the direction of eleven pro- 
fessors, seven of whom are foreigners, and four 
Chinese. A printing office, with six presses, has 
lately been erected in connection with the col- 
lege, with a view to the printing and circulation 
of scientific works. These are expected to be 
supplied in part by the professors and students, 
who are at present largely occupied with the 
translation of useful books. The Course of 
Study lies before me, and is literary and scien- 
tific, running from reading and writing to the 
highest sciences, and the Chinese, English, 
French, German, and Russian languages. The 
pamphlet is entitled, "Course of Study in the 
Tungwen College." 

The circular says: "The full course, literary 
and scientific, extends over eight years, the first 
three being given exclusively to foreign lan- 
guages, and the remainder to the acquisition 
of scientific and general knowledge through the 
medium of those languages. The foreign lan- 
guages taught in the college are four — English, 
French, German, and Russian — each pursued in 
a separate school, and, for the most part, by 
distinct classes of students. Those who acquire 
a knowledge of English have the advantage of 
being able to employ it in 'all the subsequent 



Course of Foreign Study. 97 

stages of their curriculum while students in the 
other departments must depend more or less 
upon Chinese as a vehicle for scientific instruc- 
tion, it not having been found practicable to in- 
stitute parallel courses in several languages. 

"First Year — Reading, Writing, and Speak- 
ing. Second Year — Reading, Grammar, and 
Translation of Sentences ; Exercises in Speaking 
continued through the Whole Course. Third 
Year — Geography, History, Exercises in Trans- 
lation. Fourth Year — Arithmetic, Algebra, Trans- 
lation of Dispatches. Fifth Year — Natural Phi- 
losophy, Geometry ; Trigonometry, Plane and 
Spherical; Exercises in Translation. Sixth Year — 
Mechanics, Theoretical and Practical ; the Calcu- 
lus, Differential and Integral ; Navigation and 
Surveying ; Exercises in Translation. Seventh 
Year — Chemistry, Astronomy, International Law, 
Translation of Books. Eighth Year — Astronomy, 
Geology, and Mineralogy, Political Economy, 
Translation of Books. 

"To complete the above course in the pre- 
scribed time, a good knowledge of the Chinese 
written language and fair abilities are indispen- 
sable conditions. Wanting the first, the time 
would require to be greatly extended; and want- 
ing the latter, no amount of time would insure 
success. After the completion of the general 



98 China and Japan 

course, students who feel inclined to do so, may 
remain in the college or be sent abroad, at the 
option of the government, for the pursuit of 
special studies with a view to professional use. 

"A course of five years is given in the Chi- 
nese text, for the benefit of those who do not 
acquire any foreign language. Those who study 
foreign languages are expected, by suitable exer- 
cises, to keep up the knowledge of their own ; 
and the younger students in the department of 
languages are required to devote one-half of each 
day to the study of Chinese. In addition to the 
studies laid down in the curriculum, lectures 
are from time to time given on anatomy and 
physiology.' ' 

In remodeling her national education, Japan 
has begun with her schools, and, however reluct- 
ant, China is beginning to feel compelled to do 
the same. Thus far her efforts in that direction 
have been few and feeble, all that she has to 
show being a couple of schools at Canton and 
Shanghai, with about fifty students in each ; 
three or four schools in connection with the 
arsenal at Foochow, with an aggregate of about 
two or three hundred ; and at the capital, as we 
have seen, the ' i Imperial College for Western 
Science," with an attendance of about one hun- 
dred. The Chinese concede that we are superior 



The Lama Temple. 



99 



to them in arts and sciences, but still claim su- 
periority in literature. 

Near the northern extremity of the city, on 
one of the great thoroughfares, is Yung-Ho-Kung, 
the great La- 
ma temple of 
the Mongol 
branch of 
Buddhism, 
which is fa- 
vored by the 
reigning Tar- 
tar dynasty. 
The place was 
formerly the 
residence of 
an imperial 
prince, and 
was once in- 
habited by 
the son of 
Kang-Hi. It 
was presented 
to the Mongol 
priests for this 
purpose, and 
w r as rebuilt in 1725-30. The grounds are very 
extensive, and the buildings were very fine one 




URN IN CLOISONNE. 



ioo China and Japan. 

hundred years ago. There are several of them, 
all after the universal Chinese fashion, an oblong 
square, with four -gabled roofs, with elevated 
corners and widely projecting eaves, the roofs in 
this instance being of blue and yellow glazed 
tiles. The interesting objects within these build- 
ings and grounds are two elephants of gilt bronze, 
two huge bronze lions, and an innumerable host 
of idols, an incense urn eight feet high, a rich 
Thibetan carpet, bronze instruments for worship, 
among which are some beautiful vases in email 
cloisonne*, which now, if they could be brought into 
the market for sale, would be of immense value. 
Above all, there is here a gigantic statue of 
Buddha, seventy-two feet high, of wood covered 
with bronze. The proportions of the giant are 
really very fine. We can ascend, by several flights 
of steps, up to a level with his head, examining 
each part of the body from different platforms as 
we go up. He is in a sitting posture, with folded 
legs, his huge arms resting in his lap. A man 
could easily sit upon his giant thumb. His atti- 
tude is that of profound rest and quiescence. 
The expression of his face is placid and full of 
content. Walking out of this building into an- 
other on a level with the idol's head, you find 
an immense prayer wheel or cylinder, fixed upon 
a revolving machine, on which is said to be 



A Gigantic Idol. 



ioi 




A PLATTER IN CLOISONNE. 



engraved the whole Mongol ritual ; so that by one 
revolution the sum of all prayers is said. But it 
is now sadly out of repair, and the prayers are 
at a discount. 

This great idol is said to be "the coming 
Buddha ;" but what that is I do not know. The 
temple or monastery is occupied by about one 
thousand Mongol and Thibetan priests, ruled 
over by a " living Buddha," which seems to 
mean a priest into whom the spirit of a preced- 
ing living Buddha entered when he died ; so that 
this succession seems to be kept up by a trans- 
mission of souls. Perhaps it is quite as real as 
some other successions of which we read. The 

7 



102 China and Japan. 

priests were at their evening worship when we 
were there, which seemed to consist of a monot- 
onous chanting, in a very deep bass voice, in 
the presence of the idols. 

Still farther north, about half a mile, and 
outside the walls, is another old Buddhist tem- 
ple, connected with the Mongol Lama service. 
Here we found another huge bell, presenting to 
us the inexplicable phenomenon of being cov- 
ered with raised Chinese characters, both out- 
side and in. Within the grounds is a celebrated 
marble monument to "a living incarnation of 
Buddha, " who died a hundred and seventy years 
ago in Peking. He had been invited from Thibet 
by the emperor, was a man of great sanctity, 
second only to the great Lama himself. He died 
of small -pox, and his body was sent back to 
Thibet, and over his clothes was built this mag- 
nificent mausoleum. It is really a wonderful 
structure of solid marble, ninety-nine feet high. 
You ascend the flight of nine steps and reach 
the first terrace, out of the center of which rises 
first an octagonal monument, on the sides of 
which is engraved in bas-relief the history of the 
saint, his birth, his call to the priesthood, his 
retirement to solitude, his sore temptation by the 
demons, and his death and ascension to heaven. 
The carving is really superb. Above this rises 




THIRTEEN STORIED PAGODA. 



The Marble Bridge. 105 

a great marble urn, and overtopping this, the 
great lotus flower and a gilt marble globe. It is 
held in great veneration by the Mongols and 
Thibetans who come to Peking. Two strangers, 
who had ridden up to the grounds on dromeda- 
ries, from their far away journey from Thibet, 
were worshiping on the terrace when we were 
there, measuring their length on the ground, 
around the entire monument. 

On our way back, we rode through the impe- 
rial city, walked over the famous marble bridge 
which crosses the lake, running along the western 
borders of the imperial grounds, from which is a 
view, which, in some seasons of the year, must 
be very grand ; but lies, like every thing else, 
sadly neglected, covered with dirt and going to 
ruin. This magnificent bridge was described by 
Marco Polo, six hundred years ago. Beyond 
the bridge is a very fair Roman Catholic cathe- 
dral, built of brick, erected about seven years ago, 
in which was held the only imperial audience 
ever really given to modern foreigners. As it 
stands near to the forbidden city, the government 
has built two great walls to the north and east 
of the cathedral, hiding it from the view of the 
imperial grounds. Connected with the cathedral 
is a very interesting museum, collected by the 
earlier Jesuits. It is very rich in Chinese birds 






106 China and Japan. 

and insects. We returned over the marble bridge, 
cast longing eyes at the mausoleum erected over 
the remains of the last of the Ming emperors, 
stole all the glances we could get of " Prospect 
Hill" and its pavilions, walked along the moat 
skirting the north wall of the forbidden city, 
beheld the roofs of some buildings and towers 
within it, with curious eyes ; but este procid pro- 
fani y was written on it all, and so we mounted 
our carts and rode away. 







VI. 



Iq tl\e $otitl\efn City. 



*€*^ 



S8T another time we made the tour of the 
southern city. By far the most interesting 
thing here is "the Temple of Heaven/' 
as it is called by foreigners in China, and 
which represents the ancient and State re- 
ligion. It is situated near the southern 
wall of the southern city, the grounds occupying 
much more than a square mile. The whole is 
surrounded by a high brick wall, divided into 
compartments, by intersecting walls within, in- 
closing extensive green pastures, cypress groves, 
elm avenues, and a large number of buildings. 
It is very old, the present buildings having been 
made by the Ming emperor, Yung-Lo, and they 
must have been very beautiful when new. One 
feels thoroughly indignant when he sees such 
magnificent structures and delicate workmanship 
utterly neglected, covered with dust and dirt, 

and going to ruin. A mere accident within 

107 



108 China and Japan 

the temple of heaven revealed to us the fact, 
after scraping away with our feet more than an 
inch of dirt, that the floor consisted of the most 
beautiful mosaic work of porcelain tiles. 

A most interesting object is the open altar of 
heaven, a triple, circular terrace, two hundred 
and ten feet in diameter at the base, one han- 
dred and fifty feet across the middle terrace, and 
ninety feet on the top. It is all built of white 
marble. The height of the terraces is, respect- 
ively, 5.72 feet, 6.23 feet, and five feet, making 
the elevation about seventeen feet, each elevation 
being ascended by nine steps from four different 
directions. In the center of the topmost ter- 
race is a circular stone, about three feet in 
diameter, surrounded by nine concentric circles 
of stones, and these surrounded by a marble bal- 
ustrade, as is also each of the other two terraces. 
The whole is constructed on the principle of nine 
and its multiples. There are nine steps to each 
terrace, nine concentric circles on the top, the 
upper balustrade has nine times eight, equals 
seventy-two pillars, or rails; the second or mid- 
dle balustrade has nine times twelve, equals one 
hundred and eight, and the lower balustrade 
has nine times twenty, equals one hundred and 
eighty, being three hundred and sixty in all, the 
degrees of a perfect circle. 




i&uLaJt y' ii ft-^i . iji'nv — Ji-^j^ v-jsk^^-ai EiA,:i*.^, ^h...:^-. ^.^ 



The Al tar of He a ven. i i i 

On the central stone on the top the emperor 
stands, before the dawn of day at the Winter 
solstice, to make confession of his sins and the 
sins of the nation, and to acknowledge his infe- 
riority to heaven and his allegiance to Shang-ti. 

A little to the south-west of the altar are high 
poles for lanterns to illuminate the altar at the 
time of this service. To the north of the altar 
is a large furnace, nine feet high, circular in form, 
and faced with beautiful green porcelain tiles. 
In this is burned a whole ox, as a burnt offering, 
while the emperor is worshiping on the altar. 

To the west of the altar is the Chai King, or 
"Palace of Abstinence/ ' a very beautiful build- 
ing, an oblong square, covered with blue, glazed 
tiles, the whole building surrounded by por- 
ticoes, the projecting roof supported all round by 
carved columns, the ceilings of the porticoes taste- 
fully frescoed, the entire building surrounded by 
a moat, crossed by four marble bridges, and this 
again surrounded by a marble balustrade. Here 
the emperor comes and spends the night before 
the morning worship in fasting and penitence. 
But of all this wonderful and imposing service, 
and its significance, we must treat in another 
place. 

The gem of the whole inclosure is that which 
is usually called "the Temple of Heaven, ,, but 



1 1 2 China and Japan 

which is really the altar for prayers and thanks- 
giving for good seasons, harvests, etc. It is 
some two or three hundred yards north of the 
open altar. It is a circular building ninety-nine 
feet high. It is triple-roofed, each roof being 
covered with blue glazed tiles. The windows 
are shaded by Venetians made of thin blue glass 
rods. The cornices are, of course, widely pro- 
jecting, and are richly carved and frescoed, and 
are protected all round by thin wire gauze. 

The building is reached by two terraces, both 
of which are surrounded by a marble balustrade. 
Near it, on the south-east, is another green glazed 
furnace similar to the one already described, in 
which also a whole bullock is consumed. Eight 
iron urns stand on each side of it, in which are 
made offerings of silk, cloth, grain, etc. On the 
east, is another building through which you enter 
a beautiful winding passage, or cloister of sev- 
enty-two compartments, of ten feet each, mak- 
ing in all seven hundred and twenty feet, leading 
to a slaughter-house. Several other buildings, 
of the same general style of architecture, are 
found within the walls for the tablets, instru- 
ments, etc. Opposite the Temple of heaven, on 
the west, is the hall of agriculture, occupying 
about half as much space as the grounds we 
have just described, that is, about a half of a 



Temple of Confucius. 113 

square mile. Here the emperor and some of his 
highest officers come once a year, to perform the 
act of plowing as an imperial homage to labor, 
and especially to agriculture. Within the for- 
bidden city are mulberry groves, in which, it is 
said, the empress cultivates the silk-worm, gath- 
ers and spins a certain amount of silk, to give 
equal prestige and encouragement to silk culture, 
and to the industry of women. 

Within the Tartar city, toward the northern 
walls, is the great temple of Confucius, the rep- 
resentative of the second phase of Chinese re- 
ligion. The inclosure contains some very fine 
buildings, son^e of them dating back to the thir- 
teenth century. The pavilion within the grounds 
is really a gem of ornamental architecture. The 
present temple was erected during the reign- 
ing dynasty. Within are tablets to Confucius, 
speaking of him in terms of the most exalted 
praise, and also tablets to his four sages and six 
disciples, and on each side of the court an ar- 
rangement of cloisters, where there are large 
stone tablets to more than one hundred cele- 
brated scholars. In the front of the court, are 
ten celebrated stone drums, engraved in the an- 
cient or seal character, and claimed to be two 
thousand five hundred years old, and some even 
insist that they originally fell down from heaven, 



ii4 China and Japan. 

as we also observed some other stones in the 
inclosure of the Temple of Heaven, said to have 
come from the same mysterious source. In 
front of this is the court of the final triennial exam- 
inations, where the highest degree is conferred, 
and on stone tablets are inscribed the names of 
all the doctors for five hundred years. 

To the west of Ae Confucian temple, within 
another inclosure, is the "Hall of Instruction/' 
sometimes called by foreigners, "the National 
Academy," in which is a very fine building sur- 
rounded by a moat, or rather by six marble cis- 
terns with marble balustrades and bridges. Near 
this is a most beautiful yellow porcelain pilau, or 
arch, with three portals. In clusters around the 
court are two hundred upright stone tablets, on 
which is engraved the text of the whole an- 
cient classics. 

The shortness of our time did not allow us to 
visit any of the interesting places outside of 
the city walls. The country, for twenty miles 
around the city, contains interesting places and 
monuments, as the emperor's Summer residence, 
Yuen-ming-yuen, and his pleasure and hunting 
grounds, all now in ruins, the result of the dev- 
astation of the English and French army, on 
its march to Peking. Farther away are the fa- 
mous Ming tombs, and still farther, the great 



Altars of the Sun and Moon. 117 

wall, for all of which we had to content our- 
selves with photographic views. 

At the northern extremity of the city is an- 
other remarkable altar, corresponding with the 
Altar of Heaven in the southern city. This one 
is dedicated to the earth, as the former one is to 
heaven. The one in the northern part is square 
in form, ascended by two instead of three ter- 
races, surrounded by square balustrades, ar- 
ranged in such a way as to surround the altar 
with square cisterns of water. This is called 
the " Square Poor' by the natives, as the other 
in the south is called the "Round Hillock." 
Here, at the time of the Summer solstice, the 
emperor performs a very striking service to the 
earth, as the great producer and giver of all 
earthly blessings. In another place we will recur 
to this service and give it in minute detail. 

On the east side of the city is another altar, 
dedicated to the sun, circular in form, reached 
by two terraces, surrounded by marble balus- 
trades, the building much resembling the circu- 
lar building, which we described as the temple 
of heaven, only that it is double roofed, instead 
of triple. On the west side of the city is still 
another altar, of very beautiful construction, con- 
secrated to the moon, thus completing the circle 
of a very evident nature-worship. 



1 1 8 China and Japan. 

The first religion of China was evidently na- 
ture worship, represented by these open altars 
to heaven, earth, sun, moon, etc. Then came 
the Miaus, or covered buildings, commonly called 
temples, for the worship of ancestors, Confucius, 
the kings and emperors of all dynasties, and, at 
length, not idols, but tablets. The third stage 
came in with Buddhism and Tauism, when the 
monasteries were introduced, and temples con- 
taining idols to real or imaginary Hindoo or 
Chinese philosophers and ascetics, and to imag- 
inary demons and spirits. And since then, for 
eighteen centuries, China has been given up to 
idolatry and superstition. 

Before leaving the city of Peking we ought 
to mention what is probably the oldest paper in 
the world, the Pekt7tg Gazette. It is called by 
the Chinese, " Metropolitan Announcements/' is 
published daily in two editions, one in manu- 
script and one in wooden types. It is mentioned 
in the annals of the Emperor Kai Yun, A. D. 
713-74, and is therefore at least eleven hundred 
years old. It is entirely under the control of 
the government, and its announcements are rec- 
ognized as official and authoritative throughout 
the empire. It can scarcely be called a news- 
paper ; but is in reality indicated by modifying 
a little its Chinese name, and calling it a daily 



Peking Gazette. 119 

issue of government announcements, reporting, 
especially to the metropolis, official events, or- 
ders, decrees, and reports from different parts of 
the empire. It is a government monopoly, as 
is the Imperial almanac, and no no one is al- 
lowed to reproduce its contents in any form. 




VII. 



A 



S^om Peking to $ljkqgt|hi. 



|N Tuesday, the 6th of November, we left 
the great city, regretting that we had not 
time to see it more and to study it better, 
but the cold weather was hastening on, 
and threatening to freeze up the Peiho 
River, and thereby close navigation to 
southern ports. We had, therefore, to hasten 
away, to avoid being locked up for the Winter 
in Northern China. We left Peking in a chair 
and a cart, accompanied by Mr. Davis on a 
pony, and came on to Tungchow. As we 
passed through the long street leading to the 
southern gate we met a large funeral procession. 
I had noticed the day before, standing on this 
same street, two crimson poles, each about thirty 
feet long and six inches in diameter, resting on 
trusses, and surmounted by a sort of pavilion 
rich in color and ornaments, and being different 
from any thing I had seen in other parts of China. 



1 20 



Funeral Procession. 12 1 

I inquired what it was, and was informed that it 
was the litter or palanquin on which was to be 
placed the coffin of some important person who 
would probably be buried on the next day. It 
was this funeral procession we now met, passing 
toward the southern gate, as no burials, not even 
of the highest persons, are allowed within the 
city walls. The procession consisted, first, of a 
number of soldiers or lictors to clear the way; 
then came the pavilion, gaudily trimmed in white 
and scarlet silk, borne by about twenty men 
dressed in habits of mourning. On this rested 
the coffin, which looked like a huge chest, richly 
gilded and varnished. This was followed by a 
considerable number of men, probably relatives 
and friends, walking, and followed by what 
seemed to be servants, bearing in their hands 
small figures of various kinds made of paper. 
Then came some bonzes, or priests, bearing 
some implements of worship, and accompanied 
by a band of music. Walking behind these, 
dressed in mourning white, were the near male 
relatives of the deceased ; and then, borne in 
large sedans, the female relatives, who were fill- 
ing the air with heart-rending cries. As well as 
I could learn, it was the funeral of the wife of 
an important mandarin, and it was an imposing 
sight. 



122 China and Japan 

As we passed out of the eastern gate of the 
southern city, we met a noisy crowd with great 
droves of sheep hastening in before the closing 
of the gates. We took great interest in noting 
the country scenes as we slowly rode over the 
fourteen miles between Peking and Tungchow. 
First of all, we found we had touched the north- 
ern terminus of the Grand Canal, which reaches 
first from Peking to Tungchow, and then, making 
use of the Peiho River as a part of the canal, 
extends to Tientsin. Here it starts southward, 
sometimes making use of river streams, at others 
the great channel dug out for the canal ; crosses 
the Yellow River, and extends southward to the 
Yang-tsze-kiang ; then it pursues its course on 
the southern side of the river until it reaches 
one of the ancient capitals, Hang-chow-foo, to 
the south of Shanghai. It is quite deep, and in 
some places is nearly one hundred feet wide. 
The boats on it are generally "tracked" by men 
pulling on the shore. There are no locks to ac- 
commodate the different levels ; but in some 
places the boats, by great force, are drawn up 
sluices into the upper level. In other parts of 
the canal the boats must be entirely unloaded in 
the lower level, and all their freight deposited on 
boats on the upper level. Between the river at 
Tungchow and the terminus of the canal at 






The Grand Canal. 123 

Peking, only fourteen miles in length, the flat- 
boats that are used for carrying government 
supplies have to be unloaded and reloaded five 
different times, on account of different levels. 
How easily all this could be remedied by five 
locks ! a thought which seems never to have oc- 
curred to the Chinese, and which, if suggested 
to them, would be repelled with the indignant, 
and to them all-sufficient, reply, "Chinaman 
does not do it that way." 

The country, all along the way, was rich in 
soil and varied in appearance. The busy far- 
mers were gathering in and disposing of their 
Fall crops. We rode by immense fields of the 
peculiar cabbage, pei-chai, which grows in China, 
and which is really more succulent and better 
flavored than ours. Great fields of millet were 
growing on all sides of us, here and there a field 
of wheat, and occasionally a few acres of Indian 
corn. Many people seemed to be busy in gath- 
ering what was to them the fuel for the Winter, 
which consisted of all the dried vegetable matter 
that could be gleaned from the fields or road- 
way. A reed that attains the height of about 
ten feet, and seems to be a prolific grower in 
this part of China, is gathered in immense quan- 
tities, and piled up in great stacks, for the fuel 
of the Winter. The houses are all low, one- 



124 China and Japan. 

story buildings, built of clay, or occasionally of 
bricks. As we passed along we observed sev- 
eral farmers engaged in the work of threshing 
out their millet. The process consisted simply 
of the ancient method of laying the bundles 
together in a large circle, the heads toward 
the center, and tramping out the grain with 
asses, buffaloes, and occasionally a horse. They 
seem to pay but little attention to the old 
Scripture injunction not to yoke together the 
ox and the ass. I passed several teams consist- 
ing of a horse, a buffalo, an ass, and a cow. I 
constantly felt that I was passing through scenes 
that might have been enacted three thousand 
years ago. The methods of farming, the wooden 
plows, the tramping out of the grain, the rude 
implements, all remind one of scenes and meth- 
ods described in old Bible times. Many a 
Scripture passage finds a beautiful and striking 
illustration in the lives and customs of these 
Chinese. 

The road along which we were passing can 
hardly be said to have been made, but to have 
made itself. No attention at all seems to be 
given toward keeping it in repair. In many 
places it is cut down fifteen feet below the level 
of the ground on each side ; and often in passing 
through the little country villages you would 



A Disabled Chinaman. 125 

seem to be passing through a deep cut, while 
the houses were ten or twelve feet above you. 

About sunset we reached the walls of the 
city of Tungchow. On entering this city and 
turning into the narrow street that led to the 
home of Mr. Chapin, we found a poor cartman 
whose cart in passing over the irregular street, 
had thrown him off from the place where the 
Chinaman usually sits on the shafts of his cart, 
and the heavy wheels had passed over and broken 
his leg. Quite a crowd had gathered around 
the poor fellow, and were in consternation when 
they found that he was unable to stand or to use 
his broken leg. They seemed in helpless de- 
spair. We had him carried to Mr. Chapin's 
house, and there set his leg for him, but with 
little hope that the bandages would be allowed 
to remain. Even as early as the next morning, 
a brother of the injured man appeared, earnestly 
requesting that the bandages might be removed 
for a little while. We stated the case to him, 
assuring him that if his brother would endure the 
pain for a few days it would pass away, and that 
if for six weeks he would leave the bandages on 
and not use the limb, he would have a good 
sound leg, but could certainly depend upon the 
result to be lameness for life if he removed the 
bandages for a single hour. 



126 China and Japan. 

We stopped over night with Mr. Chapin, a 
missionary of the Presbyterian Board, who with 
Mr. Sheffield and his family, and two ladies of 
the Presbyterian Woman's Missionary Society, 
are all the missionaries occupying this city of 
a hundred thousand inhabitants. One of their 
members, a young married woman, had just died, 
and we found the ladies of the mission in a state 
of great anxiety, and in a world of trouble with 
the mother and mother-in-law of the deceased 
woman. Poor child-wife ! for we saw her laid 
out in her wedding-dress, and she had only 
been married a few months, and looked like a 
child of only thirteen or fourteen years of age. 
She had been taught in one of the mission 
schools, and was an excellent Christian girl. 
She married a young man, a licentiate of this 
mission. Neither the mother nor the mother-in- 
law was a Christian ; hence the great contest 
over the matter of her funeral and the distribu- 
tion of certain presents that had been given her 
at the time of her marriage, both claiming them, 
but neither of them entitled to them, as nearly 
all of them had been presented by the foreign 
missionaries. We suggested that the dispute 
should be settled between the two mothers by 
not allowing either of them to have the pres- 
ents, but for the ladies who had given them to 



Back to Tientsin. 127 

take possession of them. The suggestion was 
adopted, and both mothers were better satisfied 
than if either had got the presents instead of 
the other. 

The next morning we were rejoined by Mr. 
Lowry and his family, and by Mr. Davis, the 
former accompanying us to his new appointment 
at Tientsin, and the latter going to Tientsin to 
accompany Miss Porter to Peking, as she was 
now expected to return. About three o'clock 
in the afternoon, with a fleet of five house-boats, 
we left Tungchow, and had a very beautiful run 
down the winding river, as both wind and cur- 
rent were in our favor, and on Friday morning 
we arrived at Tientsin. On Saturday, we visited 
the walled city, and found it, in many respects, 
an interesting and well built city, but one of the 
most filthy that we found in all China. The life 
of the Chinese sets at defiance all sanitary laws. 
Around the city walls is a moat about ten feet 
wide. Into this moat pours as much of the 
drainage of the city as can find its way into the 
channel. The effluvia that arises from it, as 
you cross over to enter into the 'gate, is most 
offensive, and yet thousands of Chinese are living 
all along its sides. The streets themselves are 
filthy in the extreme. Dogs and pigs seem 
every-where to dispute the possession of the 



128 China and Japan. 

streets with the men and women. Unlike south- 
ern cities, asses are passing to and fro in all parts 
of the city, instead of the sedan chair of South- 
ern China. We greatly prefer the chair. Some 
of the native stores in Tientsin are fine looking 
in appearance, and seem to be neatly kept. A 
French store we also visited, in which watches, 
clocks, and music-boxes, set with Chinese tunes, 
and a variety of other foreign things are kept, 
and out of which the proprietor seems to be 
making a good business. 

In the western part of the city, on the river 
bank, we saw the ruins of the Roman Catholic 
cathedral, left after the massacre and fire of 1870. 
They have refused to rebuild it, but after receiv- 
ing a large amount of indemnity, far more than 
they lost in money value, left these ruins stand- 
ing as a monument of the persecution and the 
martyrdom of their priests and nuns, and went 
into another part of the city to erect their build- 
ing. Some twenty-two persons lost their lives in 
this outbreak in Tientsin in 1870, most of them 
Catholic priests and nuns. 

The port was first entered by missionaries in 
1 861. A "Concession" was given without the 
city walls, and extending along the river, and 
some very pleasant foreign homes and fine busi- 
ness houses are built in this concession. A neat 



Services in Tientsin. 129 

union chapel, in which the Church of England 
service is read and a sermon preached every 
Sabbath morning, has been built on a part of the 
concession belonging to the New Connection 
Methodists. It seems to be a settled arrange- 
ment that in all these union chapels at the va- 
rious ports, the English Church service is to be 
read, which arises from the fact that foreigners, 
most of them Englishmen, have contributed gen- 
erously toward the building, and always on the 
condition that this service shall be read. There 
is also a fine public hall in the concession, in 
which we witnessed a large and enthusiastic 
temperance meeting. On Sabbath morning we 
preached in the " union chapel," and in the 
afternoon went to our own chapel in the city, 
where Mr. Davis, of Peking, preached to seven- 
teen natives, all members of the Church. After 
the sermon we had an interesting experience 
meeting, in which the Chinese were asked to con- 
fine themselves in their remarks to the reasons 
why they believed and accepted the Gospel. 
In the years to come this city of Tientsin will be 
a very important mission center. 

On Tuesday, the thirteenth of November, we 
left Tientsin on the steamer Shantungs one of the 
Chinese Merchant vessels, and had a deightful 
run down the river, but about eight P. M. stuck 



130 China and Japan. 

on "the bar" at the mouth of the Peiho. This 
bar is an immense obstacle in the way of navi- 
gation which could be soon remedied, but the 
Chinese will not allow it, "as it is a natural de- 
fense which heaven has placed there for the pro- 
tection of Peking/ ' On board we had a Chinese 
admiral and his suite of followers, and had many 
instances during the passage of the profound 
deference which the inferior pays to the superior 
in that land. The old gentleman was quite in- 
firm and moved about but little, and suffered 
considerably from seasickness. His dress was of 
the richest material and of the gaudiest style. 
He seemed to be perpetually smoking, his at- 
tendants filling and lighting his pipe for him. 
He never moved but an attendant was at his 
side, and his servants always stood in his pres- 
ence, and never uttered a word except when ad- 
dressed by him. A number of Chinese gentle- 
men and officials took their leave of him on the 
boat, just before we departed from Tientsin, and 
it was interesting to witness the wonderful bow- 
ings and immeasurable courtesies that passed 
between the two parties. 

It was not until Thursday morning that we 
were able to again get under way, and then we 
met with a strong head wind that kept with us 
almost all the way down the coast; so that we 



A Missionary Wedding. 131 

did not reach Shanghai until Sunday afternoon, 
the eighteenth. Here we found very pleasant 
quarters awaiting us at the "Astor House," 
under the hospitality of Consul-general G. Wi- 
ley Wells, a very pleasant Christian gentleman, a 
member of our Church, and a delegate to the 
General Conference of 1872. 

On Monday we performed the marriage cere- 
mony for Mr. Stritmatter, of our Kiukiang mis- 
sion, and Miss Combs, of our Peking mission, 
who had accompanied us to this city. The mar- 
riage was performed at the home of the Rev. J. 
W. Lambuth, that prince of hospitality, who, 
with his excellent wife, arranged a very pleasant 
occasion and entertainment for the young couple. 




VIII. 



, ptfa , 



5Sfon\ $V a *t#T ai to lliukihi\g. 



jjN Tuesday evening we came on board the 
steamer Kiang Yung for Kiukiang, and 
sailed at six o'clock the next morning. 
We had now before us a delightful sail 
of sixty hours and about five hundred miles, 
up the wonderful river, the Yang-tsze-kiang, 
on a fine river steamer. This river is the great 
artery of China, running in an easterly direction. 
Rising in the mountains far off in the western 
part of China, and, in its winding course, reach- 
ing more than two thousand miles across the 
continent, it opens into the China Sea, a few 
miles east of Shanghai, with an embouchure so 
wide as not to be seen across. It runs through 
a wealthy and populous part of the country, is 
the outlet for the produce of thousands of square 
miles to the north of it, and an equally large ter- 
ritory on the south. Large and important cities 
are stretched along its whole course. Through 
132 



The Great River. 133 

a thousand miles of its length it is from one to 
nine miles wide, and in places thirty fathoms 
deep. It is perpetually pouring out vast streams 
of muddy water which discolors the ocean for 
many miles out. Large steamers regularly run 
up the river to Hangkow, about six hundred 
and fifty miles, and large sized vessels can go 
four hundred miles more to Ichang, and then 
smaller native craft ascend it for a thousand 
miles more. The scenery at first is flat and 
uninteresting, but about one hundred miles up 
it begins to grow mountainous and picturesque, 
and as you still ascend the scenery becomes 
really grand. 

The first large city we reach is Ching Kiang, 
an open port and a very enterprising city. 
Above it, on one side, the grand canal, running 
north, here terminates in the river, and on the 
other side, the canal opens and runs on to the 
south. We next reach the famous city of Nan- 
king, the old Ming capital. It was greatly dam- 
aged by the Tai-ping rebels. The famous Porce- 
lain Tower was completely destroyed. There are 
but few remnants or indications of the former 
imperial residence. It is now rapidly recovering 
from its ruins. It lies about four miles back from 
the river. It was once the most celebrated city 
in the empire, both in regard to its extent, its 

9 



134 China and Japan. 

buildings and manufactures, and the character 
of its inhabitants. It was again made famous 
for being the place where the English, at the 
close of the opium war, compelled the Chinese 
to submit to their terms of peace, in August, 
1842, and thus opened the ports of China, never 
to be closed again to foreign trade or missionary 
work. 

There are remains of the ancient or true wall 
here, which can be traced for about thirty-five 
miles, but how much of this immense space 
was formerly occupied by houses can not now 
well be determined. The walls of the present 
city are not nearly so great; and of the space 
inclosed within them perhaps not more than one- 
eighth is actually occupied by the town. The 
town is still occupied by two peoples, the Man- 
chus and the Chinese, separated by a cross wall. 
From the hills on the east one gets a fine view 
of the entire city and of the surrounding coun- 
try. On the eastern face are three gates. The 
land near the two gates toward the river is a 
morass, and the gates are approached on stone 
causeways. A deep canal or ditch runs up 
from the river, directly under the walls on the 
west, a characteristic of most walled Chinese 
cities, streams of water, by rivers or intersect- 
ing canals, being thus carried through them. 







PORCELAIN TOWER, NANKING. 



The Porcelain Tower. 137 

The streets are not so broad as those of Pe- 
king, but are, on the whole cleaner and better 
paved, and bordered with handsome shops. The 
ancient palaces have nearly all disappeared. 
The only monuments of royalty which remain 
are some sepulchral statues not far from the 
walls, and near an ancient cemetery which the 
foreigners call the tombs of the kings, and they 
form an avenue leading up to the sepulchers. 
They consist of gigantic figures, like warriors, 
cased in a kind of armor, and stand on either 
side of the road, across which at intervals extend 
finely carved Pilaus. The ruins also of colossal 
figures of horses, elephants, and other animals, 
may still be seen scattered about. 

Nothing has made Nanking more celebrated 
abroad than the " Porcelain Tower," of which, 
alas ! we have now to speak in the past tense, 
and say that it stood pre-eminent above all other 
buildings in China for its elegance, the quality 
of the material of which it was built, and the 
quantity of gilding with which its exterior was 
embellished. This gilding, and the report that 
the tower was covered with gold, and that the 
great gilded ball at the summit was also of solid 
gold, led to its destruction by the iconoclastic 
and avaricious rebels. Its form was octagonal, 
divided into nine equal stories, the circumference 



138 China and Japan. 

of the lower one being one hundred and twenty 
feet, and decreasing gradually to the top. Its 
base rested upon a solid foundation of brick 
work ten feet high, up which a flight of twelve 
steps led into the tower, whence a spiral staircase 
of one hundred and ninety steps carried the vis- 
itor to the summit, two hundred and sixty-one 
feet from the ground. The outer surface was 
covered with tiles of glazed porcelain of various 
colors, principally green, red, yellow, and white. 
The body of the edifice was of brick. At every 
story there was a projecting roof covered with 
green tiles, and a ball suspended from each cor- 
ner. The interior divisions were filled with a 
great number of little gilded images, placed in 
niches. This remarkable structure was built in 
1430, having been nineteen years in building. 

Nanking has extensive manufactures of fine 
satin and crape, and the cotton cloth which for- 
eigners call nankeen, but of which very little 
now reaches foreign coasts, derives its name 
from this city. Paper and ink of fine quality, 
and beautiful artificial flowers of pith paper, are 
produced here. Nanking is renowned for its 
schools and literary character as well as its man- 
ufactures, and in this particular still stands among 
the first places of learning in the country. It 
has large libraries and bookstores, all indicating 



Cities on the River. 139 

and assisting literary pursuits, and the superior 
care and elegance of the editions of the classics 
published here combine to give it this distin- 
guished place. 

A little farther up we reach a new city, grow- 
ing up on the southern banks, called Wu-hu, 
which, in its wide streets, two-story buildings, 
and its better-styled stores, indicates that this 
part of China has been influenced by ideas of 
foreign civilization. It is, we think, destined to 
be a very important city for foreign trade. Our 
missionaries from Kiukiang extend their visita- 
tions to all these cities, Wu-hu, Nanking, and 
Ching-kiang, and are quite anxious to open a 
mission at Wu-hu. Still farther up the river we 
come into the region of islands, some of them 
very beautiful and picturesque. The Chinese 
have wonderful tact in selecting these romantic 
and picturesque spots for building temples and 
erecting pagodas. One of these islands in the 
midst of the river, called "Golden Island," pre- 
sents an exceedingly interesting appearance, with 
its monastery on the top, a high pagoda, and nu- 
merous buildings around the base. Another 
peculiar Chinese characteristic is their intermina- 
ble walls. On the south side of the river we 
saw another city, Ranchak, built at the base of 
a semicircular range of very high and broken 



140 China and Japan. 

mountains ; and yet this city must have its wall, 
running along the crest of this mountain. It 
presents a very picturesque appearance, the great 
wall with its bastions winding its way over the 
elevations and into the depressions of the mount- 
ains. As the natives rarely disturb them, we are 
constantly meeting with immense flocks of water- 
birds, wild geese, ducks, etc., which rise in great 
clouds from the river as the steamer approaches 
them. But here is Kiukiang. 




-dBsPG&S 




IX. 



Ouf ]Ytij^ior| at iKitikikqg. 



fN Friday, November 23d, at four P. M., 
we arrived at the city of Kiukiang, which 
is the head-quarters of our Central China 
* Mission. It stretches for two or three 
f miles along the great river, and is about 
*■ five hundred miles west of Shanghai. It 
is in the province of Kiang-si, one of the largest 
and richest of the provinces of China, extending 
several hundred miles to the south-west, till it 
touches the Kwang-tung or Canton province, 
and running the whole length of the western 
border of the Fuhkien province, and stretching 
far to the west along the river. It is the chief 
river town of the province, and to it from nearly 
all parts of the great province, by water-courses, 
vast quantities of manufactures and produce are 
brought. Kiang-si is exceedingly rich in its 
water resources. Rivers crossing in almost all 
directions, and terminating in the Yang-tsze- 

141 



142 China and Japan. 

kiang, spread a net-work almost over the whole 
province. But a short distance below Kiukiang 
by turning into a narrow opening, we enter the 
Po-yang Lake, one of the most beautiful bodies 
of water in the world, about one hundred miles 
long and ranging from five to ten miles wide. 
It is surrounded by beautiful and picturesque 
mountain scenery, and its borders are occupied 
by a vast number of towns and villages. A little 
to the west of Kiukiang we enter another lake, 
about half the size of Po-yang. By means of a 
neat little boat, presented to our missionaries 
by a foreign merchant, these lakes and streams 
may be entered, and our missionaries have been 
brought already into contact with perhaps eight 
millions of people. It is one of the most indus- 
trious and enterprising provinces in China, and 
is celebrated for its porcelain and silk. 

The city of Kiukiang is very pleasantly situ- 
ated on the south bank of the river, and is 
nearly surrounded by a series of small lakes. 
It is a walled city, about four miles in circuit. 
A ride around the top of these walls presents 
some very interesting views and a fine bird's-eye 
view of the city. The mountains rise in the 
distance about ten miles off, and lakes and water- 
courses seem to flow about the intervening spaces. 
From the towers on the walls you take in the 



KlUKIANG, 143 

entire city. It was greatly damaged by the Tai- 
ping rebels several years ago ; but it is rapidly 
recovering and filling up with new buildings, 
which gives to the city an unusually new and 
clean aspect when compared with the old Chi- 
nese cities. It has the appearance of a com- 
fortable and thriving city of well-to-do and con- 
tented people. The foreigners are located outside 
the walls, along the river bank, and have a very 
beautiful "bund," or river street, stretching 
about a mile along the river. Our mission 
property is admirably located, partly within the 
walls and partly outside, in the foreign "con- 
cession." 

Kiukiang is admirably located for a mission 
center, being surrounded in every direction, for 
many miles, by towns or cities, nearly all of 
which can be reached by river or lake. The 
climate is very mild, and gives every indication 
of healthfulness. None of these cities opened 
on the river are fulfilling the hopes of foreigners 
as places of foreign trade, but are found to be 
very thriving and enterprising places for native 
manufactures and trade, and very important and 
promising for missionary operations. We have 
reason to congratulate ourselves on the success 
and hopeful increase of our mission on the great 
river. Our missionaries entered Kiukiang late 



144 China and Japan 

in 1868. We are the only mission operating in 
and around the city, except an occasional itiner- 
ant visitation from representatives of the ' * Inland 
Mission," and we have had all the success that 
could reasonably have been expected in the ten 
years that have elapsed since it was opened. 
Our missionaries are faithful, zealous, hopeful 
men and women, and are reaching out into the 
regions beyond as rapidly as they can and should. 

We opened the exercises of our Annual 
Meeting, on Saturday afternoon, with a native 
prayer -meeting conducted by Mr. Hykes. It 
was an interesting meeting, quite Methodistic, 
even to calling on one of the native sisters to 
lead in prayer. On Sabbath we preached to the 
missionaries and to a pleasant little company of 
foreigners, in the English chapel. In the after- 
noon Mr. Cook preached the annual sermon in 
Chinese for the mission, in the domestic chapel, 
to a fine congregation of natives, including about 
twenty young girls from the boarding school of 
the women's mission. 

On Monday we went into the city and wit- 
nessed a very interesting exhibition of our schools, 
in the pleasant boarding-school building of the 
Women's Foreign Missionary Society, under the 
direction of Misses Hoag and Howe. This is a 
good two-story building, the lower part devoted 



School Exhibition, 145 

to a double school -room, dining-room, and 
kitchen, and the upper part to dormitories. 
They have in it now thirty-one girls as boarders. 
The ladies have also a girls' day school of thir- 
teen girls at Kunglung, thirteen miles off from 
Kiukiang, taught by the wife of our native 
helper there. Thirty girls and forty boys were 
gathered into the school-room, and we had an 
interesting occasion of singing, recitations, and 
questioning on Scripture subjects. The boys and 
girls sent some unique messages to the boys and 
girls of America. One little girl said, "Tell 
them that w r e worship God, and love to do it." 

At three P. M. we had an impressive bap- 
tismal service, conducted by Mr. Hykes, when I 
was permitted to baptize four native children 
and four adults. On these occasions we were 
impressed with the earnestness and sincerity of 
these people in giving themselves and their chil- 
dren to God. No one can doubt the honesty 
of purpose and the genuineness of the conver- 
sion of these Christian men and women. If 
some of them should eventually fall away, we 
are sure it will not be because they have never 
been converted, but because they have been led 
astray and fallen by temptation. 

On Tuesday, the 27th, we held the Con- 
ference Meeting. Our mission force here con- 



146 China and Japan. 

sists of V. C. Hart and wife, A. Stritmatter 
and wife, J. R. Hykes, A. J. Cook, and W. G. 
Benton ; and of the Woman's Foreign Missionary 
Society, Miss Lucy H. Hoag and Miss Gertrude 
Howe ; and of native helpers, Shi Tsa Ru and 
Hu Pei San. There are also one Bible woman 
and five school teachers ; in all, a working force 
of sixteen. We have thirty-five native members 
and thirty-two probationers, and eleven baptized 
children — total, seventy-four. In the girls' school 
there are forty-four, and in the boys' school thirty- 
five children, and attending Sunday-school eighty. 
Our property consists of three good parsonages, 
valued at twelve thousand dollars ; two without 
and one within the city walls, and all very pleas- 
antly and healthfully located. Adjoining these 
houses, we have other lots for building purposes, 
valued at one thousand dollars, and four chapels 
valued at fifty-five hundred dollars. The Wom- 
an's Foreign Missionary Society has a pleasant 
parsonage within the city, worth thirty-six hun- 
dred dollars, and an excellent school building 
which cost about twenty-five hundred dollars. 

Besides the work going on in the three chapels 
and schools at Kiukiang, the outside work is 
divided into three circuits or districts, extending 
up and down the river, and along the beautiful 
Po-yang lake. These circuits are the Hwang 



A Social Meeting. 147 

Mei, Nan Kang, and Shui Chang. The mission- 
aries make frequent journeys by water to distant 
points on the rivers and lakes, preaching and 
selling books at first cost in the cities and towns. 
These visits, in former years, were fraught with 
danger, and our missionaries have often met with 
violence. They are now able to make these 
excursions without any fear of boisterous oppo- 
sition or violence, the people wherever they go 
giving them a quiet and attentive hearing. This 
is a great gain at least. There have been twelve 
baptized during the year, to which should be 
added the four that we had the pleasure of 
baptizing. 

On Tuesday evening we had a very pleasant 
social gathering in Mr. Hart's parlor, at which 
were present a score of native preachers and the 
girls from the school. Some refreshments were 
served to the natives, three of Mr. Hart's chil- 
dren were baptized, and altogether it was a de- 
lightful, Christian, home-like gathering, the most 
pleasing feature of all being the evident appre- 
ciation and gratitude of the natives for what the 
Church at home is doing for them, and for the 
sending of one of our bishops to visit them, an 
appreciation which was manifested in presenting 
to us a pair of the elegant Kiang-si porcelain 
vases, a neat impromptu speech, and a very 



148 China and Japan 

grateful letter written in Chinese, which was read 
to me in translation. The letter I have pre- 
served, but, alas, am no longer able to read it. 

On Wednesday morning we closed these very- 
interesting exercises with a sacramental service, 
when about thirty natives and missionaries joined 
around the common table of our Lord, and I felt 
that out of these will come some who will join 
in that innumerable company about the throne, 
out of every nation and kindred and tongue 
under the whole heaven. It is difficult for the 
Church at home to estimate or rightly appreciate 
the results in this young mission. For they can 
only see the figures in the annual statistics, 
when, in fact, these are only a small part of the 
results. The leaven is at work. The public 
prejudices are giving way; the whole region 
round about is practically open to missionaries, 
and ten men could have congregations every day 
in the year, within easy reach of Kiukiang. 

The appointments for 1878 were as follows: 
V. C. Hart, Superintendent. Kiukiang, Do- 
mestic Chapel, V. C. Hart; City Chapel No. 2, 
A. J. Cook, A. Stritmatter and Shi Tse Ru 
assistant; City Chapel No. 3, J. R. Hykes, V. 
C. Hart ; Hwang Mei Circuit, A. J. Cook, A. 
Stritmatter, and Hu Pei San assistant ; Nan 
Kang Circuit, V. C. Hart, W. G. Benton ; Shui 



Missionaries' Children. 149 

Chang Circuit, J. R. Hykes, A. J. Cook ; Wom- 
an's Foreign Missionary Society, Misses Howe 
and Hoag. 

At five P. M., on Wednesday, November 
28th, we were obliged to take leave of these 
friends and this interesting mission, and accom- 
panied by all the missionaries, and a number of 
native members, we came on board the Kiang 
Yung on her return trip down the river, and at 
eight P. M. started again for Shanghai, which 
we reached at one P. M. on Saturday, and again 
found our home in the family of Mr. Lambuth. 
They had just been made happy by the return of 
their son, Dr. J. W. Lambuth, and his young 
wife, a daughter of the Rev. Mr. Kelley, a former 
missionary at Shanghai, of the same Church. It 
is a very singular and promising fact that many of 
the children of missionaries are devoting them- 
selves to this work. The young people seem ear- 
nest and consecrated to the mission in which 
their parents lived, and seem rejoiced to make 
it their life work. Dr. Nelson, of Shanghai, of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church, has also a 
young daughter of about twenty years, enthusi- 
astically devoted to missionary work. At Amoy, 
we found a son and daughter of Dr. Talmage, 
and at Canton, a son and daughter of Dr. Hap- 
per, all engaged in the same work. 




X. 



Sdieu to $lfan^ki. 

j|N Sunday, the 2d of December, we preached 
in the Union Chapel to a pleasant congre- 
gation of foreigners, and heard a sermon 
in the evening from Mr. Muirhead, of the 
Scotch Presbyterian Mission, on the second 
coming of Christ. On Saturday evening, 
I attended an enthusiastic temperance meeting 
at Temperance Hall, when Mr. Muirhead read a 
very stirring essay on the subject. Mr. Muir- 
head is the oldest missionary in Shanghai, and 
is an enthusiastic, zealous, consecrated, white- 
haired old man. It is a benediction to be in 
his presence, and an inspiration to see him at 
his work. 

As we are now done with Shanghai, this is 
the place to give our readers our impressions 
of this city. Shanghai is situated on the right 
bank of the Woo Sung, which flows into the 
great river, the Yang-tsze-kiang, " Child of the 
150 






Shanghai. 



'5 1 



Ocean," which is called by many the main artery 
of China, as it flows through many of the prov- 
inces and some of the most wealthy 
cities of China are built upon its banks. 
The town is situated about twelve 
miles from the 
mouth of the 
river, and con- 
tains a popula- 
tion of about 
one hundred ^m 
and fifty thou- § 
sand. Along | 
the river you see gj 
the fields of (I 
rice, beans, corn, jjj 
cotton, etc., 
every foot of lj 
land being in- 
dustriously cul- 
tivated. The 
wall of the city 
is about three 
miles in circumference, and is entered by six 
gates. The houses are low, built of wood, the 
large projecting roofs overhanging the narrow 
streets. A canal flows around the outside of the 
city walls, which is about twenty-two feet in 




SHANGHAI MERCHANTS WIFE. 



152 China and Japan. 

width, and there are also three canals led from 
the river, which run through the heart of the 
city, with small streams branching off from them 
in various directions. The city is built in nar- 
row, filthy streets or alleys, and crowded with 
shops and people actively engaged in business. 
It is, perhaps, the filthiest city in the world, and 
yet this is just what you feel like saying of each 
successive Chinese city into which you enter. 
The narrow streets not being paved or flagged 
with stone like most other Chinese cities, but cov- 
ered with tiles or bricks, placed with their edges 
upward, and as the drains, ditches, and moats are 
all uncovered and choked up with refuse mat- 
ter and stagnant water, the smell is sometimes 
suffocating. 

The vast plain of Shanghai is cultivated to an 
extent that no one will believe without seeing it ; 
in fact, it is one vast garden. The soil is com- 
posed of rich loam, iti which are raised crops of 
various descriptions, cotton being the principal 
one. Within a few miles of Shanghai are many 
splendid gardens, and some nursery gardens, 
which contain many curious specimens of the 
tree peony or moutan, as the Chinese call it. 
From the summit of the hills lying back of 
Shanghai, some beautiful views are to be ob- 
tained of the surrounding country, over which 



Shops of Shanghai. 



i53 




WHEELBARROW TRAVELING AT SHANGHAI. 



villages are thickly scattered. The hills are par- 
tially built upon, and many temples and joss 
houses, devoted to the worship of Buddh, are 
located on them. 

The merchandise which is exposed for sale in 
the shops is composed of plain, embroidered, 
and flowered silks, satins, and crapes, cottons, 
white and colored, carved bamboo ornaments, 
pictures of native scenes, bronzes, jade-stone or- 
naments, antique porcelain, and a hundred other 
articles of curiosity or comfort. The shops that 
are devoted to supplying tea and cooked food 
are numberless, as well as tea gardens and haunts 
for opium smoking. They are generally well 
crowded with the various grades or classes of in- 



154 China and Japan. 

habitants from the mandarin and the wealthy, in 
their silken robes, who frequent opium shops and 
tea gardens, down to the poor mendicant, with 
scarcely a rag to cover his nakedness, who goes 
to the itinerant cook-stand where he can pro- 
cure the largest quantity of rice and fish for his 
few cash. Many of the shops that sell provi- 
sions, cooked and uncooked, present very un- 
pleasant sights, from the quantities of disgust- 
ingly flabby, fat pork that is exhibited for sale. 
In some parts of the narrow streets it is almost 
impossible to pass between the stands, which are 
placed before the houses, and on which these 
edibles are exposed for sale. 

A large portion of land in the vicinity of the 
city is appropriated to the burial of the dead. 
The tombs differ greatly from the horseshoe, or 
omega-shaped, tombs found in the south of 
China ; and one passing up the river might easily 
mistake the thousands of them which he sees on 
each side of the river for stacks of hay. The 
numbers of coffins literally encumber the earth, 
as multitudes of them are not buried, but placed 
upon short posts, thatched over with rice straw, 
and are often allowed to crumble into dust before 
the friends can find a lucky place, or perhaps, 
better still, the means with which to bury them. 
Some, indeed, have a strange dislike to placing 







A MANDARIN. 



The Foreign City. 157 

their dead in the earth at all. Mounds after 
mounds meet the eye, of a conical or round 
form, and of every size, from the little hillock 
that covers the remains of some child, to the 
huge mound, twenty or thirty feet high, in which 
the fathers and the wealthy are deposited; and 
as most of them are very old and overgrown 
with long grass, the effect is not unpleasing. 

Shanghai is really a triple city, native, foreign, 
and mixed. The native city is surrounded by 
the universal wall, dark, gloomy, and dirty, 
every-where wearing the aspect of squalor and 
want No foreigners live inside the walls. In- 
deed, one can hardly think of a more miserable 
imprisonment for a foreigner than to be com- 
pelled to live within those walls. All the mis- 
sionaries are, however, working within the city, 
while dwelling outside. The foreign city con- 
sists of three "Concessions" — English, Amer- 
ican, and French — stretching for three miles along 
the curve of the river, and separated from each 
other by narrow creeks. This foreign city is 
really beautiful and quite unique, as it differs 
from all other cities by combining the European 
and Oriental style in its buildings and general 
appearance. There are some very magnificent 
buildings. The Hongkong and Shanghai banking 
company's building is one of the finest in all the 



158 China and Japan. 

East. A public garden runs for quite a dis- 
tance along the river. The long, beautiful, 
curved street -way bordering the river is called 
"the Bund/' and is open all along one side to 
the river, and is built up with very imposing 
buildings on all the other side, nearlly all of 
them having tasteful front yards, filled with semi- 
tropical vegetation. 

The British consulate buildings are very fine. 
America can afford nothing but mere passable, 
rented buildings, and is not able to allow her 
consul enough to live on, and he boards at the 
hotel. The fact is, the representation of Amer- 
ica in China is not calculated to minister much 
to an American's pride or loyalty. With as 
good men as any nation in the world sends here, 
they are confined to such quarters and styles of 
living as make an American rather hang his 
head in the presence of the establishments of all 
other nations. Republican simplicity may be a 
very good thing, but republican meanness does 
not pay, here or elsewhere. A very interesting 
establishment is the French consular buildings, 
and the Germans and Russians are well repre- 
sented in Shanghai. The simple fact is, Amer- 
ica presents a mean appearance in the presence 
of these other establishments. 

It is a suggestive fact that the Chinese are 



Missionary Force. 159 

every -where pressing in among the foreigners 
with their homes and business, most of them 
building Chinese homes and stores in an im- 
proved Chinese style, showing that they can ap- 
preciate an improvement on even Chinese houses 
and comforts, while some of them come boldly 
to the front and build fine large stores and 
hongs, and enter into direct competition with 
foreigners, even in matters of foreign trade. 
The foreign population is supposed to be about 
twenty-five hundred or three thousand, distrib- 
uted as follows : English, one thousand ; Ameri- 
can, five hundred ; German, five hundred ; French, 
three hundred ; Parsees, one hundred ; other na- 
tionalities, about one or two hundred. It is a 
busy, thriving place, reminding one of Chicago 
by its busy activity, but from its semi-tropical 
climate, and cosmopolitan population, still more 
of New Orleans. 

The missionary force working in and about 
Shanghai numbers about thirty, English, Scotch, 
and Americans. Drs. Yates, Muirhead, Nelson, 
Young, Lambuth, Roberts, and Farnham seem 
to be leaders among them. The Church of 
England has a fine cathedral, as an architectural 
structure, but almost worthless to speak or hear 
in. The Presbyterians have a neat church- 
building for English services; and the " Non- 



160 China and Japan. 

Episcopals " have a union chapel for English 
service. The Presbyterian Publication House is 
an extensive building, and is doing a great and 
good work in publishing the Scriptures and many 
other works in the Chinese language. From 
Shanghai as a center these missionaries are oper- 
ating far out in the country, — all the missions 
having " out-stations, " some of them a hundred 
miles away. 




wy* 




xr. 




N Tuesday, December 4th, at seven A. M., 
we got under way for Foochow in the snug 



little English steamer Europe, of the Jar- 
dine, Mattheson & Co. line. We were 
accompanied on our way down the coast 
by Mr. Delano, Consul at Foochow, whose 
acquaintance we were glad to make, and whose 
genial sociability and hospitality we were after- 
ward permitted to enjoy in the city of Foochow. 
He is a gentleman and a good man, having the 
unqualified respect of all the foreigners at Foo- 
chow, and the entire confidence of the native 
authorities. We had also a number of English 
passengers, going from Shanghai to Foochow to 
attend the Winter races. It is simply amazing 
the amount of wine and spirits these English- 
men can drink ; and yet they do not get drunk. 
As we passed down the coast we had in view 

nearly all the time the wild broken coast -line, 

161 



1 62 China and Japan 

and as the weather was clear and fine we had a 
very pleasant sail. 

On our right hand, as we went down, we left 
the very beautiful and important Chinese city, 
Ningpo, one of the most flourishing centers of 
missionary operations along the coast of China. 
It was one of the first ports opened to foreigners 
by the treaty of 1 844, and was very soon entered 
by foreign missionaries, and has been well occu- 
pied and worked since. The societies repre- 
sented are, the Church of England mission, the 
United Methodist Free Church, the American 
Baptist, the American Presbyterian, and the 
Inland Mission. There are out -stations spread 
largely over the great peninsula on which Ningpo 
stands, and also across the channel into the 
Chusan Island. 

At the mouth of the river which empties into 
the great bay, just north of Ningpo, stands one 
of the famous cities of Chinese history, Hang- 
chow. It is one of the later opened ports, and 
has been rapidly and successfully occupied by 
the missionaries. Here are found the Church 
of England, the Southern Presbyterian, the 
American Baptist, and the American Presby- 
terian missions. 

On Thursday morning we found ourselves 
entering the mouth of the River Min, on which 






Portuguese Lorchas. 163 

is situated the city of Foochow. The sun was 
just rising, and poured a flood of golden light 
over the beautiful scenery which skirts the em- 
bouchure of the river. We suddenly tacked 
about from our course and bore into the Min, 
winding our way through a picturesque group 
of islands, called the White Dogs, and which 
seem like savage sentinels, guarding the entrance 
of the river. We can not express our feelings 
as we again entered this river after an absence 
of twenty-five years. Twenty-five years ago the 
city of Foochow was only accessible to the for- 
eigner by means of the Portuguese lorchas, 
small, schooner-like crafts, owned and manned 
mostly by the Portuguese of Macao, and by 
which a lucrative trade was conducted, in con- 
voying or guarding native junks along the Chi- 
nese coasts, to preserve them from the attacks 
of the native pirates which then infested all parts 
of the China seas. For several years these war- 
like crafts, themselves bearing no small resem- 
blance to piratical brigantines, thoroughly armed 
from bow to stern, and manned by mixed crews 
of daring Portuguese and unscrupulous natives, 
constituted the only means available to the mis- 
sionary for passing up and down the coast, and 
were the only vessels, other than native craft, 
that navigated the river Min. 



164 China and Japan. 

In the Summer of 185 1 we chartered one of 
these vessels at Hongkong, and a voyage of eight 
days along the bleak and barren coast of China 
brought us to this same outlet of the river. Now 
three or four lines of steamers are running up 
and down the coast of China, and regular steam 
communication is kept up between Foochow and 
Shanghai on the north and Hongkong and Can- 
ton on the south, 

The scenery of the river Min inspires uni- 
versal admiration. Travelers have frequently 
compared it to the picturesque scenery of the 
Rhine, but Americans find a better comparison in 
the beautiful scenery of the Hudson, which it 
equals in grandeur, and surpasses in the beautiful 
blending of rich lowlands, cultivated rice-fields, 
and tributary streams. The principal entrance 
to the river is narrow, bounded on each side by 
ranges of lofty and undulated hills, most of 
which, however, have been made to yield in 
many places to the ingenuity of Chinese cultiva- 
tion, and exhibit in numerous spots along their 
steep sides beautiful verdant terraces, producing 
on their level surfaces a large variety of articles 
of food. This beautiful and striking feature, 
exhibiting the industry and ingenuity of the 
Chinese husbandman, is constantly repeated 
along the steep and naked sides of the high 



The River Min. 167 

mountain range which extends along the north- 
ern side of the river, as well as on the more 
gentle slopes of the numerous hills which range 
in varied scenery along the southern bank of the 
stream, and the effect is too beautiful to weary 
the observer by its repetition. This narrow 
pass is now strongly fortified by the Chinese 
government. 

After passing between the two hills, which 
almost meet together at the mouth of the river, 
the stream widens into what appears to be a 
beautiful, hill -bound lake, enlivened along its 
banks with numerous villages, and dotted over 
its surface with a multitude of small boats, con- 
stituting the homes of a large number of natives 
who make their living by fishing and disposing 
of their supply to the people of the villages 
along the river. On the right bank of the river 
is a large village, Kwantow, where there is a 
military establishment and a custom-house which 
used to be the general clearance office for the 
city of Foochow. Continuing to ascend the 
stream the traveler reaches another narrow pass, 
called the Mingang, with columns of rocks on 
either side piled up to the height of a thousand 
feet, between which the deep waters rush with 
great velocity. Beyond this the stream again 
widens into a beautiful, broad, and deep river, 



1 68 China and Japan. 

skirted on the north by a high, broken range of 
mountains, glittering every here and there in the 
sun's rays, with the torrents and cascades which 
rush down its precipices. On the south side it 
is adorned by alternating hills and large, level 
areas of paddy fields, through which, in one 
place, is seen winding a large creek, leading back 
into the fertile country, and in another, opening 
out into a deep ravine, through which flows a 
large branch of the river, which here returns to 
meet again its parent stem, from w T hich it had 
separated a few miles above the city of Foo- 
chow. In the north-western extremity of this 
view of the river are seen two beautiful and, in 
this warm climate, evergreen islands, lifting their 
hemispherical forms from the bosom of the river; 
and about three miles to the south of this, at 
the other extremity of the scene, is discovered a 
large, triangular island, on the upper extremity 
of which rises the seven-storied pagoda, which 
has given its name to this island. This part 
of the river constitutes the principal anchorage 
for vessels of large tonnage. In it were now 
lying a number of sailing vessels and several 
steamers. 

After ascending above the Pagoda island, 
the river separates into two large branches, the 
principal of which, taking a north-eastern direc- 



China in Progress. 169 

tion, leads to Foochow; while the other ascend- 
ing more to the south and west, again joins with 
the principal branch about eight miles above the 
city, after encircling a large and fertile island 
about thirty miles long, and which, opposite the 
city, is six or seven miles In width. As soon as 
we rounded the head of Pagoda Island, we felt 
that the old Foochow of twenty-five years ago 
had wonderfully changed. As we turned toward 
the right bank to look for our venerable friend 
of twenty-five years ago, the high, picturesque 
mountain range of Kushan, we beheld, stretch- 
ing along the line of the river, for quite a mile 
in extent, a large number of foreign buildings, 
heard the puff of steam-engines, and the clatter 
of hammers, which indicated to us another great 
arsenal and ship-yard, owned and directed by the 
Chinese government. Lying in front of these 
buildings were four very fine-looking gunboats, 
that had been built by the Chinese. 

As we ascend the river the range of mount- 
ains recedes from the stream, and in irregular 
and broken masses sweeps along the northern 
boundary of the large amphitheater in which 
lies the city. On the southern bank of the 
other branch of the river is another high range 
of exceedingly irregular hills, whose dark out- 
lines are visible from Foochow, thus completing 



170 China and Japan. 

the beautiful basin in which the city is situated. 
One of these hills, quite abrupt and mountain- 
ous, called Tiger Hill, which towers up in the 
distance, just opposite the city, is supposed to 
have a strange influence over the destinies of 
Foochow. It is said that an early prophet de- 
clared that when this hill, which terminates in an 
abrupt precipice on the river's edge, should fall, 
the city would be destroyed. To prevent this 
great catastrophe two large granite lions are set 
up within the city walls, immediately facing this 
threatening hill, which are supposed to coun- 
teract all evil influences of this rugged elevation. 
As we come nearer to the city we discover 
that another wonderful change has taken place. 
All along the southern side of the river we now 
see a number of foreign houses, many large 
merchant hongs and many beautiful homes on 
the sides of the hill back from the river. A for- 
eign population of about two hundred, and a 
foreign trade of millions of pounds per year, has 
sprung up in this city since we left it, twenty-five 
years ago. But old China is still the same. As 
we approach the city, hundreds of "sampans , " 
or small row-boats, and larger vessels more per- 
manently located, here throng the river, and serve 
as residences for their owners. These water 
residences are one of the striking features of 



River Sights. 171 

Chinese life, and are found in all parts of the 
empire. The river population of Foochow must 
amount to several thousand souls, born and 
reared and spending their lives on these boats. 
Here, too, are the many junks of the olden 
time, of all forms and sizes, from the massive, 
uncouth vessels coming down from Shantung, to 
the neat little, black painted crafts of Ningpo; 
and these vessels pursue the same old method 
of sailing down the coast during the early Fall 
and Winter by the aid of the north-east mon- 
soon, and then lying here for nearly six months 
to sail back again, when the monsoon shall have 
changed to the south-west. Here, too, in the 
center of the river, is the same Tongchiu, or 
middle island, connected with the banks on each 
side by stone bridges and densely covered with 
buildings, and occupied by a busy, thriving mul- 
titude numbering several thousands. Several na- 
tive, official residences are found on this island, 
and formerly we made our own home upon it, 
accompanied by two mission families. 

Here, too, are the same stone bridges, the 
great bridge of "ten thousand ages" and the 
bridge of "a myriad sounds," the one reaching 
from the southern suburbs to Tongchiu, and the 
other extending from the other side of the island 
across the larger stream to join the main-land, 



172 China and Japan, 

on which stands the city. Both are interest- 
ing specimens of Chinese ingenuity and labor. 
Across these bridges seemed to be moving the 
same old noisy, bustling crowd, busy with their 
multifarious traffic. The bridges are of solid 
stone, not arched, but consisting of huge blocks 
of granite, more than thirty feet in length, and 
about three feet square, laid side by side, from 
pier to pier, thus constituting a solid stone floor- 
ing, which is covered by level flagging stones, 
firmly cemented together. An ingenious balus- 
trade runs along each side, consisting of flat 
blocks of granite, about twelve feet long, two 
feet wide and four inches in thickness, having 
their extremities set in heavy granite columns, 
which are terminated on their summits by rude 
figures of Chinese sculpture, such as lions, ti- 
gers, dragons, etc. Of course, these are only 
foot bridges, for the simple reason that the Chi- 
nese do not use horses and carriages, but accom- 
plish all necessary transportation of persons and 
goods by the shoulders of men and women. 



xir. 



¥l\e City of jWt^ow. 



*&mz¥> 




fgpplND now we have reached the city. Foo- 



chow is the provincial city of Fuhkien. 
It lies in latitude 26 ° J f north, and longi- 
tude 109 east, on the banks of the river 
Min, about thirty miles from the sea. 
Fuhkien is one of the richest and most en- 
terprising provinces of Southern China. It has 
a territory of fifty-seven thousand square miles, 
and a population of fifteen millions of the most 
hardy and adventurous natives of the empire. 
The scenery of the country is beautifully diver- 
sified throughout the whole province, which is 
swept along its eastern boundary by the waters 
of the Pacific, presenting throughout its whole 
length a bold and rugged coast, faced by nu- 
merous islands, and indented by coves and bays, 
affording ample shelter to the native shipping. 
On the west it is, to a considerable extent, sep- 
arated from the other parts of the empire by the 
173 



174 China and Japan. 

towering chains of hills which skirt its western 
border. The bay and harbor of Amoy, which 
is also in this province, furnish an excellent out- 
let for its valuable productions at the southern 
extremity, and foreigners have not been slow to 
discover its great importance as a center of trade, 
from its near connection with the Bohea Hills, 
the great tea district of China, which enrich it in 
the north and form its northern boundary. The 
people of the province are peaceful and indus- 
trious, and are among the boldest and most 
enterprising of all the Chinese. Their trading 
crafts are found in nearly all of the ports of 
China, and their commerce extends to Japan, 
Loo Choo, Cochin China, and to most of the 
islands of the Indian Archipelago. 

Foochow is about five hundred miles up the 
coast from Canton, and about four hundred miles 
down the coast from Shanghai. The population 
of the city and its suburbs will not fall far short 
of a million souls. On the south side of the 
river is a large suburb called Ato, divided into 
several districts, stretching for some miles along 
the river bank. In the lower part it expands 
over a level plain, presenting a mass of build- 
ings and a dense population, with some of its 
streets stretching far back towards the rice fields 
of the country. Throughout the greater part 



The Cemeteries. 177 

of the length of this suburb the ground grad- 
ually rises from the bank of the river into broken 
hills, the faces of which are occupied with build- 
ings and numerous temples, and the summits 
fringed with pine and fir trees. Along the north 
face of these hills most of the foreigners have 
built their homes, while along the river front 
of this suburb, they have erected their hongs and 
places of trade. 

Stretching for miles along these hills, in the 
rear of the population, is the city of the dead, 
the principal burying-ground of Foochow, now 
being invaded by the irrepressible foreigner. 
Here we may wander for hours among thousands 
of tombs of every size, from the small, conical 
mound, covered with plaster, beneath which rest 
the remains of the humble poor, to the spacious, 
well-paved, and ornamented monument, covering 
an area of several hundred square feet, which 
indicates the resting-place of the wealthy and 
important. Here, too, in a little secluded valley, 
covered with grass and shaded by clusters of 
olive and guava trees, marked by their sim- 
ple granite tombs, differing from the thousands 
around them, and only separated from those cu- 
rious graves of the natives by low brick walls, 
the foreigners, too, have found a resting-place 
for their dead in two small cemeteries, the one 



178 China and Japan. 

used by the missionaries and the other by the 
foreign residents. 

A population of perhaps fifty thousand is 
found in this great suburb, consisting chiefly, as 
far as the natives are concerned, of moderate 
artisans and traders, whose shops and stores are 
ranged along the main street, and of boatmen, 
sailors, and merchants, the traders of Ningpo 
and other places, who come to the city in trad- 
ing junks. An extensive market in fruit, fish, 
and vegetables is carried on largely by women 
throughout the length of the principal street 
skirting along the river. This suburb seems to 
abound, too, in temples, some of them con- 
structed on a scale of great magnitude, and one 
known as the Ningpo Temple, dedicated to the 
worship of Matsoo Po, the "goddess of the 
sea," is one of the most massive and interesting 
in the city. The gongs and bells and musical 
instruments of these idolatrous temples keep up 
a perpetual din throughout this suburb. 

Circumstances have fixed this locality as the 
chief center of our mission at Foochow. Here, 
on an extensive compound on the southern face 
of the hill, we have five excellent residences, 
one of them owned by the Woman's Foreign 
Missionary Society. We have a large three- 
story girls' boarding-school, also belonging to the 



Mission Buildings. 179 

Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. We have 
another large three-story building, with basement, 
the lower part of which may be called the 
"Methodist Book Concern " of Foochow, and 
the remaining two stories may be designated the 
"Theological Institute'' of the Foochow Con- 
ference. 

On the front face of the hill we have a fine 
brick building, known as the Tieng-Ang-Tong, 
the "heavenly rest church," divided into two 
compartments, the one for English and the other 
for Chinese service. A little removed to the 
west of this interesting group of buildings in this 
great compound is located the home and hos- 
pital of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Soci- 
ety, under the direction of Miss Sigourney Trask, 
M. D. From the summit of this hill also float 
the flags of America and England from the res- 
idences of the consular representatives of these 
nations. A little to the south and west of our 
compound and mission buildings are two excel- 
lent residences of the Church of England mission. 

We have already spoken of the large popula- 
tion of Tong Chiu, the island in the middle of 
the river. After passing over this and the long- 
bridge on the other side we come to the north 
bank of the river, where lies a still more exten- 
sive suburb, stretching along the stream for two 



180 China and Japan. 

miles above and a mile below the bridge, and 
reaching back a distance of nearly three miles to 
the walls of the city. In some places it spreads 
out for a considerable distance over the plain, 
and in others is contracted to a single winding 
street leading to the city gate. A population of 
not far from one hundred thousand occupies this 
suburb, and it presents one of the most busy 
and interesting scenes about Foochow. Stores, 
shops, factories, markets, banks, temples, arches, 
and public buildings are found in abundance, and 
the main thoroughfare which connects the whole 
suburb with the city is thronged from morning 
to night with a noisy, busy multitude. In a 
very fine, elevated locality in this suburb, called 
Pona Sang, two missionary families of the Amer- 
ican Board have fixed their residences ; and here 
Dr. Osgood, of the same board, was constructing 
a large hospital when we visited him ; and here, 
also, Miss Payson, of the Presbyterian Woman's 
Missionary Society, was conducting a fine school. 
On the thronged thoroughfare they also have 
chapels and schools. On this thoroughfare, too, 
the Methodist Episcopal mission has a very in- 
teresting center of operation in the district, long 
Tau ; and in still another part of this suburb 
this mission has erected a very good, neat, and 
commodious church, dedicated to the worship 



A Bird's- eye View. 181 

of the true God, Ching-Sing-Tong. It was the 
first church erected in Foochow. 

Leaving this great suburb by passing through 
the south gate we enter the city proper, a vast 
and densely crowded metropolis, spreading over 
an area of many square miles, encircled by a 
massive stone wall about seven miles in extent, 
and flanked every few rods with towers and bas- 
tions. The best bird's-eye view of the city is to 
be had from the tower over the north gate. It 
stands on a dark, rocky eminence, a little to the 
west of the extreme north part of the city, w T hich 
rises, first by a gentle acclivity, and then by a 
steep and abrupt ascent, until its dark summit, 
over which runs the wall, is crowned with a 
high, three -story tower, thus bringing you far 
above all the surrounding city. 

From this point may be contemplated one 
of the finest views in China, embracing the 
whole vast amphitheater encircling Foochow, 
bounded on all sides by the broken and irregular 
mountains, intersected by the winding branches 
of the river, and numerous canals and water- 
courses, dotted every here and there with little 
hamlets and villages, animated by the wide- 
spread city and its suburbs, and enlivened here 
and there by large paddy fields and cultivated 

gardens, all luxuriant in tropical vegetation. On 

12 



1 82 China and Japan. 

the right, at the foot of another hill, He the 
romantic and picturesque grounds formerly oc- 
cupied by the British consulate ; and a little 
farther to the right, on a bold eminence known 
as " Black Stone Hill/' after many a struggle, 
the Church of England still succeeds in holding 
its place, and its two buildings rise above all the 
plain as a city set upon a hill. At your feet 
lies the populous city of Foochow, with its 
teeming masses of living idolatry. 

Only a few buildings rise above the general 
level to diversify the monotonous scene of the 
tile roofs. Beautiful pagodas, lifting themselves 
up within the city walls, and towering high 
above all other surrounding buildings, are prom- 
inent objects to the eye. Every here and there 
the eye is arrested by the tall poles of honor, 
indicating the yamins, or residences of the great 
mandarins of the city, or by the bright red color 
of some remarkably massive buildings, which 
bespeak the localities of the various temples 
scattered over the whole city. To your left, on 
another hill, not far from a pagoda, you discover 
two beautiful dwellings occupied by the Amer- 
ican Board Mission. The fantastic form of the 
city watch-towers, and the more regular, square 
form of the public granaries, impart some little 
relief to the fatiguing similarity of the objects. 



Life in the City. 



183 



The city is richly supplied with large, wide- 
spreading shade -trees, which, rising above the 
buildings and spreading their branches over the 
roofs, give to the city the appearance of being 
embosomed in a vast grove ; but the noise and 
din perpetually ascending from below, the out- 
cries and bells from the crowded streets, the 
beating of gongs, drums, and cymbals from the 
precincts of the temples, the noise, of fireworks 
and crackers accompanying the offerings of the 
devout, soon convince us that it is not a grove 
of solitude, but is animated by a full tide of 
population. 




XIII. 



iWljow — S Vi^it to % City. 



||jrfT Foochow the traveler is done with the 
pp horse, the donkey, the cart, the wheel- 
barrow, and the jinrikiska, and must take 
to the chair, or sedan, as his mode of 
conveyance. Mounting one of these, 
borne by three men, in company with 
some of the missionaries, we made a visit into 
the heart of the city and made the tour of the 
walls surrounding it. We crowded our way 
through the long, crowded street leading from 
the southern suburb to the city wall. The street 
was crowded through all this great length. No 
horses, or beasts of burden, or carriages for men 
or goods, are used here, and all movable articles 
are borne to and fro upon the shoulders of men, 
women, and children. You can easily fancy the 
thronged and noisy character of such a Chinese 
street, — sedan-chairs jostling against each ether, 
borne by rough, boisterous coolies, huge baskets 
184 






Street Sights. 185 

of salt fish, boxes of tea, bags of rice, and a 
countless variety of manufactured articles, vege- 
tables, poultry, live and slaughtered animals for 
the market, and other things too numerous to 
mention, borne on the shoulders of men and 
women thronging and crowding each other, each 
struggling for room and jostling his neighbor out 
of the way, and each panting, sweating, toiling 
bearer helping to keep up a perpetual noise by 
crying to his neighbor to "look out," or " take 
care," or "walk straight," or "keep to the 
right," and the din of gongs and bells, inter- 
mingled with angry and vulgar epithets of men, 
women, and children, make up the every -day 
scenes of this great thoroughfare. 

Along this narrow street, not more than ten 
feet wide, are arranged the homes, stores, and 
shops of the Chinese. These, in a vast majority 
of instances, are nothing more than one -story 
bamboo or mud-plastered hovels, without window 
or chimney, without ceiling or plastered parti- 
tions, with a rough tile roof, dark and dirty, 
hanging overhead, a ground floor, and black and 
filthy walls, with a store or workshop in front. 
An open clay furnace, set in any part of the 
house, the smoke being left to find its way out 
through the cracks and crevices of the roof and 
walls, a few four-legged benches or odd -shaped 



1 86 China and Japan 

chairs, some narrow boards laid side by side on 
stools, covered with pieces of matting, and pro- 
vided with a round piece of wood to rest the 
head upon, intended for a bed, or in some in- 
stances a huge and clumsy bedstead, carved and 
gilded, but filthy and smoke -stained, constitute 
the furniture. This, to be sure, is not univer- 
sally the case, but it is so much so as to consti- 
tute the general type of houses and homes in 
Foochow. Even the houses of those whose 
circumstances appear to be easy, the houses of 
well-dressed merchants, who, on the streets and 
in their stores, are richly dressed in silks and 
satins, crape and broadcloth, still are but small, 
one-story establishments, destitute of cleanliness, 
neatness, or comfort. 

Here and there we find these one-story dom- 
iciles spreading over a considerable area, and 
embracing a number of apartments, constituting 
the homes of the proud and affluent mandarins. 
Here may be found painted or carpeted floors, 
ceilings stuccoed and frescoed, and adorned with 
painted birds and flowers. Some of these are 
inclosed by plastered walls, and in some in- 
stances these inclosures present to us beautiful 
gardens, filled with choice plants in every variety, 
dwarfed shrubs, trained in the forms of birds, 
animals, trees, etc., and decorated with artificial 






The Stores and Shops. 187 

ponds, rocks, caverns, winding passages, orna- 
mental bridges, and Summer-houses. In the 
houses of the highest classes may be seen the 
rich divans, carved and inlaid tables, gay and 
beautiful lanterns, embroidered tapestry, gilded 
vases, fishes and birds in vases and gaudy cages, 
large mirrors, bureaus and bedsteads, with mat- 
tresses and rich coverings and hangings, all ele- 
gantly and tastefully arranged ; but such scenes 
are few and far between in this or any other 
Chinese city. 

A lively picture, indeed, is presented by the 
stores and shops so profusely arranged along the 
narrow streets, all presenting a full open front, 
and displaying the operations and contents within. 
Here are to be seen the artisans of the various 
branches of native industry, plying their busy 
work and vending the products of their labor in 
one and the same room, serving the purpose of 
workshop and salesroom. Here in one part are 
crowded together in their narrow dwellings, amid 
the din of forges and hammers, little groups of 
wire-drawers, brasiers, button-makers, and smiths 
with four men alternating their rapid blows on a 
single anvil. Here, again, are to be seen image- 
makers, lamp makers, cabinet-makers, carpenters, 
trunk -makers, wood -turners, curriers, shoe -mak- 
ers, tailors, gold and silver leaf beaters, umbrella- 



1 88 China and Japan. 

makers, cotton-beaters, grocers, druggists, stone- 
cutters, engravers, and decorators, — all working 
away in the public gaze at the numerous arts which 
supply the necessities or luxuries of Chinese life. 
Thickly interspersed with these are the more gay 
and lively porcelain shops, rice and tea stores, 
curiosity shops, silk dealers, trinket makers, ar- 
tificial-flower shops, lantern stores, and book 
rooms. Restaurants are found all along the 
way ; and at nearly every corner are to be seen 
portable kitchens, steaming away, supplying 
sundry hungry expectants the savory materials 
of a hasty meal, while for the more aristocratic 
a succession of cook-shops, wine -stores, tea- 
rooms, pastry-cooks, and fruiterers line the way. 
Along these thoroughfares one of the first 
things to arrest the attention of the foreigner 
is the numerous temples and buildings erected 
for religious purposes. Their incredible number 
contrasts strangely with the appearance of gen- 
eral neglect and the evidences which most of 
them present of desertion and decay. Nearly 
every street, and indeed sometimes every block 
or square, contains one or more of these idol- 
atrous temples, their peculiar architecture and 
elevation above the other buildings every -where 
arresting the eye, They abound in the suburbs, 
are found in every village, are scattered along 



Deserted Temples. 189 

the public highways, and are often seen standing 
out alone in the solitary fields, and, as if these 
still were not enough, we discover, almost every 
mile on the roadside, and every few hundred 
yards on each street, small chapels or joss 
houses, in which are niches occupied by idols, 
and vases perpetually containing burning incense. 
Judging from such sights, the stranger natu- 
rally concludes that the people of Foochow are 
devoted in their attachment to their national 
religions, and are wedded to their idols and 
superstitions. But closer examination, however, 
will soon convince him that such is not the case, 
and that the condition of these masses, except 
in times of distress or necessity, is rather that of 
religious indifference, that their idolatrous and 
unmeaning systems seem rather to be worn out 
and effete, and no longer capable of satisfying 
the wants and commanding the interest of the 
people. Not the least evidence of this is pre- 
sented by these very temples and places of wor- 
ship themselves. Nearly every one of them ex- 
hibits evidences of desertion and decay. Many 
of them seem never to be opened at all, and are 
covered with dust and filth ; others, entirely aban- 
doned, are crumbling into ruins. Their walls 
are fallen and overgrown with weeds and mosses. 
Their spacious courts are empty and desolate, 



1 90 China and Japan 

and their huge idols are broken and crumbling 
to dust on their deserted shrines. 

As we pass along this thoroughfare we must 
now turn aside into a little nook or corner, to 
allow a noisy wedding procession to pass by. 
The sedan chair is preceded by about a dozen 
musicians playing on various instruments, what, 
it is to be supposed, is a Chinese tune, but what 
seems to the foreigner the veriest combination of 
noise and discord. Then come some men and 
women bearing presents, which are to be given 
to the bride ; then a few more relatives of the 
bride ; and then a guady sedan chair, in which, 
entirely shut out from all inquisitive gazers, sits 
the bride. She is on her way to the home of 
the bridegroom, whom she may or may not have 
ever seen. Now we move a little further, and 
again must turn aside to let a mandarin, with his 
retinue, pass by. Before him is a herald on a 
rough, uncurried horse, with a trumpet, which 
he occasionally blows to clear the way for his 
approaching excellency. Behind him are a num- 
ber of strangely dressed soldiers, the body-guard 
of the officer ; then a large, gayly trimmed sedan 
chair, borne by four men, and in it, sitting with 
pride and dignity, and looking upon us poor 
foreigners- with the utmost contempt, as outside 
barbarians, sits his majesty. He is followed by 



Military Drill. 191 

a retinue of larger or smaller number, according 
to his official rank and standing. 

Soon we reached the south gate of the city 
wall, passing through which and also through 
the second gate of the interior wall, and turning 
to the right, an inclined way leads up to the top 
of the wall. As we reach it, our attention is 
immediately attracted by an interesting and ex- 
citing scene, outside the city and a little to the 
west. It is the drill ground for the native sol- 
diers, and about two thousand soldiers were 
being reviewed and put through their military 
maneuvers. Large multitudes of people had 
gathered on the top of the wall, and on some 
of the hill-tops overlooking the wall, to watch 
these military movements. For some years the 
government soldiers have been under the train- 
ing of French and English military officers. We 
can not stop to describe their military maneuvers, 
except to remark that all they did seemed to be 
done with promptness, order, and precision, al- 
though some of their movements, even when 
admirably executed, do not appear to be very for- 
midable. Their firing was prompt and in excel- 
lent order. When we entered into the city, after 
our ride on the wall, we met a number of soldiers 
returning from their drill, and were interested at 
hearing these Tartars shouting in our own Ian- 



192 China and Japan. 

guage, "shoulder arms/' ' 'forward march," etc. — 
another indication that China is becoming a more 
dangerous foe. 

The ride around the wall is exceedingly inter- 
esting, your eye resting now on the multitude 
of attractive objects which appear in the city, 
and then on the beautiful and varied scenery of 
the country and suburbs without. Every now 
and then you pass through one of the great 
towers, erected over the gates on each side 
of the city. These towers are generally two 
stories high and covered with the universal square 
roof, with broad eaves. Old, neglected cannpn 
are found in all of them, which would really be 
of very little use in time of war. Now you pass 
by hot springs, on the east side of the city, in 
the warm waters of which multitudes are bath- 
ing. At the foot of the wall, on the inside, are 
many of the best dwellings of the richer people, 
surrounded by gardens and fruit orchards. 

Now you reach the north gate, and as you 
look from the tower you see on the outside 
of the wall a square territory, the place at which 
capital punishments are usually inflicted. Years 
ago we stood on this same spot and saw nine- 
teen men and women, including in their number 
two or three children, their hands tied behind 
them, on their knees, with an executioneer at 



Executions. 193 

each end of the line ready to take off their 
heads. We stood it long enough to see one 
head decapitated at each end of the line and 
then turned away. These were a company of 
pirates that had been captured by an English 
vessel on the coast, and delivered to the Chinese 
government. When the time came for their 
punishment, the British Consul was notified of 
the time and place and requested to be present. 
At his desire I accompanied him to witness the 
execution. Thus, as we pass around these walls, 
a hundred familiar objects and a thousand memo- 
ries of years ago press upon us. 

The city ranks among the finest in China, 
having some wide thoroughfares, contrasting 
pleasantly with the usual very narrow streets, 
and some large stores and shops and spacious 
public buildings. As we descend again into the 
city, we pass through several of the most impor- 
tant streets. Here we came upon the Yamen, 
or official quarters, of the Kwang-tow, or viceroy 
of the city, a series of buildings and courts, into 
which, with a degree of impertinence that was 
only justified by our curiosity, we entered, and 
passed up till we came to the great painted and 
gilded doors, beyond which was the ordinary 
residence and official quarters of his excellency. 
By this time the attendants, whose business it 



194 China and Japan 

was to guard the gates and passage ways, had 
recovered from the consternation into which they 
had been thrown by our sudden entrance, and 
with forcible politeness requested us to leave. 
The business of the city is largely distributed 
into quarters appropriated to each industry. We 
now pass through " curiosity street" where all the 
remarkable productions of China are offered for 
sale at very high rates to the foreigners, but at 
very low ones to the native Chinese. We next ap- 
proach the "Chatham Street" of Foochow, along 
which are hundreds of clothing stores exhib- 
iting for sale the various articles of dress for 
both men and women. This one is cabinet- 
makers' street ; that one is kept by the makers 
of lanterns, and so, as we pass through these 
various streets, we find them appropriated, each 
to its specific business. It is a busy, enterpris- 
ing place. 




XIV. 




iWtjow — fii^toficTal gketd\. 

pOOCHOW was scarcely known to foreign- 
!|li ers before the treaties of 1842-4; it was 
even but little disturbed during the Anglo- 
Chinese war which preceded those trea- 
ties. It had been, however, for several 
years a profitable depot for the opium 
traffic, two extensive British houses having their 
receiving ships and station at the mouth of the 
river, and their agents residing in the suburbs 
of the city. Through the influence of these 
houses it was chosen as one of the ports opened 
to foreign trade and residence by the treaties, 
and was immediately occupied by a British con- 
sular establishment. Some years, however, were 
permitted to pass before this vast city attracted 
attention as a place of trade, or a desirable point 
for missions. The magnitude and importance 
of the city were first made publicly known by 

i95 



196 China and Japan. 

Captain Collinson of the British navy, who vis- 
ited it officially in 1843. 

In the following year the Church Missionary 
Society of England sent out the Rev. George 
Smith, afterward Bishop of Victoria, for the ex- 
press purpose of visiting the open ports of China, 
and reporting on their comparative claims and 
feasibility as mission stations. In December, 
1845, Mr. Smith reached Foochow, and spent 
nearly a month in exploring the city and sub- 
urbs, and in investigating the question of its eligi- 
bility as a point of missionary action. He was 
at once convinced of the importance and promise 
of this great city as a missionary field, and 
strongly recommended it to the Church Mis- 
sionary Society for immediate occupancy. Its 
favorable situation and vast resources and oppor- 
tunities for foreign trade were only partially made 
known by this visitor, whose great business was 
to discover fields for missionary activity, and 
consequently several years more passed before 
the advantages of the city were discovered and 
made available for foreign commerce. 

On the second day of June, 1846, the first 
Protestant missionary entered Foochow. This 
honor belongs to Rev. Stephen Johnson, who 
had already been laboring for several years among 
the Chinese at Bangkok in Siam, and who, as 



The First Missionaries. 197 

the Chinese at Bangkok were from the province 
of Fuhkien, and spoke that dialect, was thought 
to be a valuable pioneer, and was directed to 
enter this port by the American Board, under 
whose auspices he was acting. Mr. Johnson 
gave nearly six years of earnest, pioneer, mis- 
sionary activity to this infant field, and then 
under prostrated health returned to his native 
land. His practiced eye soon saw in Foochow 
a most desirable missionary station, and he rec- 
ommended its rapid occupancy by the American 
Board. 

In a few months Rev. L. B. Peat and family, 
who had been fellow laborers with Mr. Johnson 
in Siam, rejoined him in Foochow. For about 
ten years Mr. Peat and his estimable lady labored 
efficiently in Foochow, and then Mrs. Peat laid 
down the armor and slept with the precious ones 
who had gone before. Mr. feat gave about ten 
years more to the mission, and then returned in 
old age and broken health to his native land, 
and even while we were writing these words was 
dying and passing away to his rest. 

In 1846 the attention of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Missionary Society was directed toward 
China, and after very considerable investigation 
of the claims of the various ports the missionary 
authorities decided on Foochow for the location 



198 China and Japan. 

of their infant mission, which was really the first 
venture the Methodist Church had made in a 
real foreign mission. Accordingly, Rev. M. C. 
White and wife and Rev. J. D. Collins sailed 
for that port on the 15th of April, 1847, m the 
ship Heber, from Boston, and arrived at Foochow 
early in September of the same year. Just one 
month after the arrival of these missionaries at 
Foochow, on the 13th of October, 1847, Rev. 
Henry Hickok and wife and Rev. R. S. Maclay 
embarked for the same port, and reached Foo- 
chow early in 1848. About a month after the 
sailing of these missionaries to re-enforce the 
Methodist mission, another company sailed from 
Philadelphia, and arrived at Foochow on the 7th 
of May, 1848, to join the mission of the Amer- 
ican Board, the little band consisting of Rev. C. 
C. Baldwin and wife and Rev. Seneca Cummings 
and wife and Rev. William Richards. Mr. Rich- 
ards remained three years, and in broken health 
started for home, but died at sea. Mr. Collins 
remained about four years, and in broken health 
returned and died in America. Only one year 
after the arrival of Mr. White Mrs. White died 
on the field, and rests in the Foochow cemetery. 
Mr. Hickok remained only a year, when his 
health also failed, and he was obliged to return 
to America. In 1850 Mr. Maclay welcomed to 



Re-enfor CEMENTS. 2 o T 

his home and heart Miss H. C. Sperry, and he 
and his excellent wife served the mission till 
1872, when they were transferred to our newly 
organized mission in Japan. C. C. Baldwin and 
wife still live, after thirty years of service, doing 
good Avork for the mission. 

On the 31st of May, 1850, the American 
Board Mission was again strengthened by the 
arrival of Rev. J. Doolittle and wife, who were 
accompanied on their voyage from Hongkong 
by the Rev. Messrs. Welton and Jackson, who 
came under the auspices of the Church of Eng- 
land Missionary Society. After more than twenty 
years' service Mr. Doolittle returned permanently 
to America, and is now living in very broken 
health. In 1856 Dr. Welton retired, and in 185 1 
Mi;. Jackson was removed to Ningpo. Just be- 
fore the leaving of Dr. Welton, Rev. Mr. Macaw 
and wife and Rev. Mr. Fernley arrived to re- 
enforce and continue the Church of England 
Mission. Early in the year 1850, also, the Rev. 
Messrs. Fast and Elquist, the first missionaries 
sent out to a foreign land from Sweden, by a 
recent society formed through the agency of 
Rev. Mr. Fielsteatt, long a missionary in Smyrna, 
arrived at Foochow. 

The history of these young and promising 
missionaries is brief and melancholy. After 



202 China and Japan. 

much and troublesome negotiation, they obtained 
a promise of a permanent residence in the neigh- 
borhood of the city walls; and in October, 1850, 
only a few months after their arrival, they visited 
an English vessel at the mouth of the river, to 
obtain the funds necessary to complete the con- 
tract. As they were returning in their small boat 
they were suddenly attacked by a Chinese pirat- 
ical craft, filled with armed men, which had put 
off from one of the villages along the shore. Dur- 
ing the encounter Mr. Fast was mortally wounded, 
and fell from the boat into the river, which was 
at once his death-bed and his grave. His re- 
mains were never recovered. Mr. Elquist, when 
his friend had fallen, threw himself into the river, 
and by diving under the water succeeded in 
reaching the shore, having received several 
wounds. For two days, smarting under his in- 
juries, and enduring the intensest mental agony, 
he wandered on the mountains which skirt the 
shore of the river, when he finally reached a 
point of land near one of the receiving ships, 
and was discovered and taken on board. One 
of the pirates, reputed to be the leader of the 
gang, was fatally wounded by a pistol shot from 
Mr. Fast, of which he shortly afterward died. 
The neighboring piratical haunt, from which these 
murderers had put off, was subsequently destroyed 






My First Arrival in China. 203 

by a military expedition dispatched from Foo- 
chow. Mr. Elquist sank under the consequences 
of the frightful scenes through which he had 
passed, and in declining health visited Hong- 
kong early in 185 1, in the hope that the change 
of climate and association would restore him to 
health. This result not having been realized, in 
1852 he embarked for Sweden. Thus terminated 
this first attempt of the Swedes to establish a 
mission in China. 

On the 9th of July, 185 1, the writer and his 
wife, accompanied by Rev. James Colder and his 
wife and Miss M. Seely, who afterward became 
the wife of M. C. White, arrived at Foochow, 
and on the 9th of June, 1853, the mission of the 
American Board was strengthened by the arrival 
of the Rev. Charles Hartwell and wife, the latter 
being a sister of Mrs. Cummings, already in the 
field. Mr. Hartwell and wife still continue in 
the service of the mission. In 1855 the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Mission was re-enforced by Rev. 
Dr. Wentworth and wife, the latter of whom 
soon died, and now sleeps in the cemetery of 
Foochow. The same year the mission was joined 
by Rev. Otis Gibson and wife, who after many 
years of efficient service returned to this country, 
and are now doing valiant missionary work in 
our mission among the Chinese in California. 



204 China and Japan. 

We have thought it well to give in this more 
detailed form the occupancy of this mission-field 
in its earlier years. By successive arrivals since 
1855 our mission at Foochow has been re-en- 
forced by Messrs. Baldwin, Hart, Todd, Wheeler, 
Lowry, Martin, Binkley, Sites, Plum, Ohlinger, 
Edgell, Chandler, and their wives. In 1867 
Messrs. Hart and Todd left Foochow to inaugu- 
rate our mission at Kiukiang, and in 1869 
Messs. Wheeler and Lowry went to Peking to 
establish our mission there. Mr. Martin died, 
and Mr. Edgell was obliged to return home, 
while the others still remain at Foochow. In 
1858 three young ladies, the Misses Woolston 
aad Miss P. E. Potter, subsequently married to 
Dr. Wentworth, arrived to take charge of the 
Woman's work. After the organization of the 
Woman's Foreign Missionary Society these ladies 
were transferred to that organization ; and in 
1875 Miss Trask, M. D., came to inaugurate the 
medical department of the woman's mission. 



XV. 




S Vi#t to % dotii|tfy. 

|N Thursday, December 6th, we arrived at 
the city of Foochow, and on- Friday and 
Saturday convened the mission to consider 
and settle some preliminary questions for 
| the organization of an Annual Conference. 
** On Sabbath Mr. Baldwin preached in the 
morning in Chinese, giving a historical statement 
of the mission in this locality, and in the after- 
noon I preached in the chapel in English. 
Monday and Tuesday were spent in various ex- 
cursions about the city, and on Wednesday, at 
five o'clock in the morning, we started up the 
river Min, to make an excursion to a part of our 
country work. I was accompanied by Mr. Bald- 
win, superintendent of our mission, and Mr. 
Chandler, in charge of the work on the Kucheng 
Circuit. Through the courtesy of one of the 
merchants we were favored with a steam launch, 

on which we ascended the river for sixty miles, 

205 



2o6 China and Japan. 

accomplishing the distance by four o'clock in 
the afternoon, instead of taking two or three 
days, as is usually required in a Chinese boat. 

The river Min is the glory and the treasure 
of this province. In beauty of scenery, along 
its whole length of about three hundred miles, it 
is unsurpassed, while down its rapid tide thou- 
sands of boats carry the vast products of the 
whole northern and western parts of the prov- 
ince. The scenery is mountainous, and the 
mountains are high and rugged, but all covered 
with vegetable or timber growth. 

At four P. M. we reached the village of Chui 
Kau, where we had to spend the night. We 
found passable quarters in the "upper room" of 
the chapel of the Church of England mission, but 
did not sleep much, on account of the noise of a 
set of gamblers in the adjoining house, who, 
strange to say, were keeping up these noises to 
propitiate the gods and secure their blessing on 
their rascally business. At daylight, after a 
breakfast prepared by our own cook, of food that 
we were carrying with us, as it is necessary in all 
these country trips to have your own cook and 
provisions, we started for Kucheng, still thirty 
miles distant. It was raining, but in twenty 
minutes after we rounded the mountain point, at 
the upper part of the village, I saw that we 



Mountain Scenery. 207 

would be grandly paid for even riding in an open 
chair in the rain. Our first move was to climb 
the mountain side, a thousand -feet high, by a 
winding way on the sides of the hill, terraced 
nearly to the top, while down the mountain 
sides were leaping streams of water in every di- 
rection. In the valley below were the rapids of 
what we have called the Kucheng River. 

The scenery in every direction was grand, and 
through it we traveled all the day, up and down 
the mountains, sometimes on precipices five hun- 
dred feet high, the river roaring and dashing be- 
low, the mountain sides covered with pines or 
bamboos, or orchards of tea oil trees or tallow 
trees, and where these were not, the mountains 
terraced sometimes a thousand feet high. The 
mountains, in shape, remind one of the Sierra 
Nevadas, but are covered from base to summit 
with the richest verdure. The terracing of these 
mountain sides to bring them into level ground, 
on which the paddy or rice may be cultivated, 
is really remarkable. For thirty miles we ride 
along this winding stream, and on these mountain 
sides, and yet in all the distance did not observe 
a straight line. All these terraces are bounded 
by little elevated sides, all running in grace- 
ful curves, and rising one above the other, for 
hundreds of feet up the mountains. Mountain 



208 China and Japan. 

streams in countless numbers break out on these 
hill-sides, and, being caught up by the industrious 
farmers, are turned into these terraces, and the 
terraces opening one into another, send the 
water leaping down the sides of the mountain in 
a thousand broken streams. The effect is really 
charming. 

The river is very wild, and at one place has a 
cataract about fifty feet high and as many broad. 
With much labor and no little peril, we climbed 
over the rocks to the edge of the cataract. As 
it falls from the summit into the abyss below, it 
sends up a great cloud of vapor, which the na- 
tives declare is the breath of a dragon, living 
under the falls. Our chair-bearers most firmly 
believed this, and declared that the dragon had 
several times been seen, and that at night his 
breath often emitted light and flame. As addi- 
tional proof that the dragon was there, it was 
positively asserted that nobody who fell into the 
abyss had ever been seen again. This part of the 
story we can easily believe. 

At one o'clock we arrived at Hok To Liang, 
fifteen miles on our journey. Here our cook soon 
prepared us a fair dinner in the "book-room" 
of our own chapel, which is simply a common 
Chinese house, which we rent for two dollars and 
fifty cents per year. We were soon on our way 



Village Nastiness. 209 

again, and, at four o'clock, halted for the night 
at a miserable little village called Chau long, in 
another small, rented native house, used as a 
chapel by the Church mission. I can no more 
give an idea of the noise, the filth and stench, and 
the general nastiness of a Chinese village, than I 
can of the magnificent natural scenery. By day 
we sang praises, riding through the one, and by 
night we groaned, suffered, and sickened in the 
other. In the morning, every thing was drenched 
in the rain, and we were unable to move forward 
till ten o'clock ; then we started, still fully com- 
pensated for our rainy ride by the wonderful 
landscapes that every moment were opening be- 
fore us. Through all this valley laborers were at 
work in the rice fields preparing them for the 
Spring sowing. We were constantly meeting 
burden-bearers carrying great loads on bamboo 
poles on their shoulders to Chui Kau to be 
shipped by the river. 

Two miles outside of Kucheng, we were met 
by a delegation of native Christians, and when we 
had reached the last resting place, a mile out of 
the city, we met the presiding elder and some ad- 
ditional members, who welcomed us to the city. 
At one o'clock we reached the chapel and found 
comparatively pleasant quarters in the back part 
of the chapel and part of the parsonage. We 



2 to China and Japan. 

could see and feel at once the presence and in- 
fluence of Christianity. Hu Yong Mi is presid- 
ing elder and pastor, and is a saintly man, who, 
in former years, endured great persecution in 
himself and family for the name of Christ. We 
enjoyed an interesting native prayer-meeting in 
the evening. 

On Saturday morning we had a prayer meet- 
ing, and at ten in the forenoon a general meet- 
ing in the interests of the district. In the after- 
noon we held a short examination of the girls' 
school, numbering fourteen girls, and then vis- 
ited three places with a view to finding a better 
location for our chapel. One of the places vis- 
ited impressed me favorably as to location, size, 
and availability of the buildings. We are glad 
to learn that this property has been purchased 
by the mission, and the buildings upon it have 
been remodeled under the genius and labors of 
Hu Yong Mi, and now gives us a very excellent 
central property for the city of Kucheng and for 
the entire district. There is room upon it for a 
good church and parsonage for the presiding 
elder, a parsonage for the preacher, and a home 
for the foreign missionary when he visits the city, 
two or three rooms for school purposes, and a 
street chapel and book room on the main street 
fronting the property. 



Chinese Homes. 211 

The second place we visited was a dilapidated 
house, which, at one time, must have been very 
fine, in the Chinese sense, but is now going to 
ruin, a result of opium and polygamy. The 
grounds are large and buildings extensive. There 
are two large gardens and a fish pond. The 
building is two stories, surrounded by galleries, 
contains some very fine carved wood work, and 
the walls are finished in ornamental stucco. We 
felt sad as we looked upon this establishment 
going thus to ruin, and knew well the causes that 
were producing it, the proprietor having become 
reduced so low that he actually had torn away 
parts of the beautifully carved wood work and 
sold them to buy opium. 

The third was a neat and better kept house, 
being a series of one-story buildings surrounding 
the court. In the court were some fine speci- 
mens of plants and dwarfs. Hanging up in the 
ancestral hall our attention was called to an old 
picture, painted in the time of the Ming dy- 
nasty. We noticed the absence of the queue 
from the figure, indicating that this appendage to 
a Chinaman's head was not in existence until 
enforced upon them by the conquering Manchus. 
In the court we observed a fine large tree, twelve 
feet high and more than six inches in diameter, 
which was a Camellia Japonica, full of buds, 



2 1 2 China and Japan. 

ready to burst out into those gorgeous flowers. 
We also visited a fine college building outside of 
the city walls, dedicated to the memory of Chu 
Foo Tsze, a famous philosopher of five hundred 
years ago, one of the most noted commentators 
on Confucius, who taught school in this place. 
An examination hall occupies nearly the entire 
front of the building. A room in the rear of 
this seems to be dedicated to Kwanyin and her 
attendants, whose images are there in a glass 
case. On both sides of these rooms are cells for 
students. The scenery from the college, up and 
down the river, is very fine. 

As we sat in our room in the rear of the 
chapel, on Saturday afternoon, we observed, 
hanging on one side, two gilt mottoes on scar- 
let crape, presented by the traveling preach- 
ers of Hu Yong Mi's district to him, which is 
quite a characteristic of Chinese etiquette and 
appreciation. One of these mottoes reads, "For 
a thousand li, the sound of his traveling feet 
brought glory to Christ." The other reads, 
' ' For six years we received his instructive care, 
and grace was divided through the pasture." 

Sunday, the 16th, was a high day for Ku- 
cheng Methodism. 

The members and preachers from the district 
were assembled for a united meeting, and the 



Christian Experience. 2 1 3 

whole day was well put in. Morning prayer- 
meeting at six ; Sunday-school at half-past eight ; 
love-feast at half-past nine, with sweet -cake and 
tea, led by Chiong Taik Liong, who read part 
of the fifth chapter of Galatians, and gave out 
the hymn, " Oh, for a heart to praise my God;" 
then prayer; then singing, "Happy Day;" and 
then followed about twenty relations of Christian 
experience. 

Chiong Taik Liong said: " My heart is in 
agreement with the third verse of the eighty- 
ninth hymn. Now I take my life and existence, 
and all I have that is precious, all my friends, 
and consecrate my whole person to God. I am 
very happy in my Savior." 

Ting Ming Tong said: "In the last two 
months I have had great peace in my work. I 
desire all your prayers." 

Ling Oi Hing said : "My peace is very great, 
very wonderful. I suddenly obtained peace. 
My grief is little ; my peace is much. My grief 
is to see so many still unconverted. I constantly 
pray for the Kucheng Church, and feel thankful 
for the Savior's answers." 

Chaing Ki La said: "My constant prayer is 
that Christ will take my life into his own hands, 
and do with me as he will." 

Another said: "I shall serve Christ to the 
14 



214 China and Japan. 

end." Another: "At my station I have con- 
stant peace. I desire that all this country may 
be given to God." 

Ting Kieng Sing said : tl I have received very 
great grace from God. Within these few days I 
have received something very precious. What 
is it ? God has assured me that I am his child, 
and that I am brother to these foreign and native 
Christians. I am very happy." 

Another said: "I am praying God to help 
me. All that I am afraid of is that I will fall 
again into sin. I want you to pray for me, that 
I may be faithful to the end." 

A brother who had attended us as a burden- 
bearer from Foochow said : "I am from Ngu- 
keng. What I see in Kucheng is very wonder- 
ful. Outside of the Church of Christ you can 
not see such a sight — foreign teachers and natives 
all assembled together to join in the service of 
God. Over ten years ago I became a Christian. 
I wish you all to pray for our Ngukeng class." 

San Kwang Hung said: "I have used many 
measures to destroy the carnal mind within me, 
and have prayed earnestly, and have partly suc- 
ceeded. Now I am like one waiting, like Paul 
on the wayside, to know what the Lord wants 
me to do." 

Another said : " Last year there was no peace 



A Love-feast, 215 

in our household. Now we have great peace, 
and we have come to know the Savior. My 
heart is full of thankfulness." 

Yong Hung Sing said: "My soul and body 
have been entirely at peace. If Jesus had not 
come to the earth we would not have had any 
thing to . assemble together for to-day. We are 
here because of Jesus. In these few days I have 
obtained great happiness. It seems as though I 
had come to the last days and begun to taste the 
joys of paradise." 

Another said: "I am very happy in God's 
grace. What I meet in the world I am able to 
bear through Christ." 

Hu Yong Mi, the elder, said: "I see many 
here whose lives were not given into the Savior's 
hand. I was very sad. Christ told me, Look 
to me and not be sad. I have already over- 
come. Now, trusting in him, I have seen great 
grace bestowed. I very much love you, my 
brethren. I want, like John, to lay my head on 
the Savior's bosom, and, like Mary, to sit at his 
feet." While Yong Mi spoke all were greatly 
affected, and many were in tears. 

At the conclusion of the love-feast I had the 
pleasure of baptizing four children and two 
adults — one of the children being a little found- 
ling, picked up and adopted by our Bible woman. 



2 1 6 China and Japan. 

At eleven o'clock Mr. Baldwin preached in Chi- 
nese, and after the sermon we had the Lord's- 
supper, when fifty -two natives communed, of 
whom eight were women. At three o'clock sev- 
eral of the preachers went out into the streets, 
and at various points had street preaching; and 
in the evening we had preaching and prayer- 
meeting, with which the native Christians of the 
Church of England Mission also joined with us, 
the services being conducted by Mr. Chandler. 

So passed a Sabbath with a body of Chris- 
tian Chinese, in a manner we shall never forget. 

Kucheng is a district walled city of about 
tw r enty thousand inhabitants, and, though wet and 
muddy now from the excessive rains, we could 
easily see that it is one of the neatest and clean- 
est Chinese cities I have ever been in. The 
Methodist Mission, and also that of the Church 
of England, have good success here and in this 
district. The Church Mission has a very good 
chapel in this city. We, also, will soon have one. 

At five o'clock on Monday morning we break- 
fasted, and about seven got off, in our chairs, on 
our return, accompanied by the presiding elder 
and the preachers of his district. We were again 
enchanted by the scenery and the many strange 
things of Chinese life and custom which we met 
on the way. 




FIELD LABORERS. 



Country Scenes. 219 

Here were natives, with their bamboo poles 
on their shoulders, and their burden at each end 
of the pole, making their way into the villages, 
or carrying their burdens from the city over to 
the river. Here were laborers, plowing in the 
rice-fields, or digging up the stubble of last 
year's harvest, preparing the ground for the 
early Spring rice. Here we make our way 
through a deep ravine, crossed by the only 
stone -arched bridges that we saw in China. 
Here are some strange -looking urns, hid away 
in a romantic little spot, which our attendant 
rather wittily called "potted ancestors." They 
are urns containing the ashes of cremated Chi- 
nese. Here are ingenious methods of conduct- 
ing the streams of water for miles through 
bamboo pipes. Now we are winding around a 
precipice five hundred feet high, actually grow- 
ing dizzy as we look into the raging river below. 
Here is a camphor -tree, six feet in diameter. 
Here is a large banian, of the form peculiar to 
China, ten feet in diameter in its trunk. Now 
we pass over the long, strangely constructed, 
wooden bridge. And thus, through changing 
scenery of this kind, we travel all day. 

About five o'clock in the evening we left our 
chairs, and took a Chinese boat for a dashing 
ride of about seven miles down the rapids of the 



2 2 o China and Japan. 

river. It was a very exciting ride ; and about 
six o'clock we entered our own house-boat on 
the Min, at Chui Kau, and floated down the 
rapid river all night; and about ten o'clock the 
next day reached our homes in Foochow, feeling 
abundantly repaid for all my labor and exposure. 

During our entire visit to Kucheng we were 
attended by an enthusiastic Chinaman, Lau Yong 
Ming, an exhorter in the Kucheng Church. 
Wherever we went Yong Ming was with us. 
Two miles out of the city he met us, and when 
we left he conducted us more than two miles on 
our way. He seemed to take immense delight 
in anticipating every wish, and in ministering in 
every possible way to our happiness and com- 
fort. He brought down, from the loft over the 
chapel, three large, smoke -covered idols, and 
presented them to me as the former objects of 
his worship. To satisfy his good feeling, we 
carried them as far as Foochow, but were not 
able to bring them with us to America. I be- 
came very much interested in him, and asked 
him to give me a little sketch of his history. 
He wrote it out, and Mr. Chandler translated it 
for me. It is not unworthy of a place in this 
volume, and will be interesting to the reader. 
It is as follows : 

"I am a native of Kucheng city. All my 



Sketch of a Convert. 221 

ancestors have lived here for many generations 
past. My family being poor my work, as a 
child, was to watch cows in the field. When I 
was grown up, I opened a tobacco store. Thirty- 
three years ago, in the twenty-third year of the 
Emperor Tau Kwang, I became a Buddhist 
vegetarian, zealously worshiping the gods, and 
refraining from eating meat. Seven years ago, 
in the first year of the Emperor Tung Te, being 
avaricious, I began gambling, hoping to get 
great profits in it, but instead of realizing my 
hopes, I lost all my money, even including the 
capital which I had invested in my shop. I was 
in very great distress, having no rest because 
of my loss. 

"I continued thus until the third year of the 
reign of Tung Te, when, thanks be to God's 
grace, his true word was first preached in Ku- 
cheng city. In the seventh month of that year 
a chapel was opened here, and I first heard the 
commandments of God. Hearing these com- 
mands and listening to the voice of prayer and 
singing, I was deeply moved and convinced of 
my sinfulness. Four months later I gave my 
name as a probationer in the Church. Thence- 
forward I listened to and obeyed the Word of 
God, receiving the unseen aid of his Holy Spirit. 
On the sixth day of the sixth month of the follow- 



222 China and Japan. 

ing year, thirteen years ago, I was baptized and 
received into the Church by Dr. Maclay, at Hok- 
Ing-Tong, in Foochow city, and now, by the 
grace of God, I have come out of death, and 
have entered into life, and by the constant help 
of the Holy Spirit have been enabled to leave 
darkness behind me and enter into the life 
of God. 

"Thus my body and soul have both found 
rest and peace, relying on this Scripture : ' Let 
us hold fast the profession of our faith, without 
wavering; for he is faithful that hath promised/ 
I believe that I shall be forever with the Lord, 
and I can say with the Psalmist, ' It is good for 
me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn 
thy statutes. Before I was afflicted, I went 
astray, but now I have kept thy Word.' My 
strong desire is, under all circumstances, to offer 
myself, as a living sacrifice to God, hoping that 
when I have been tried, I shall receive a crown 
of life, which the Lord hath promised to them 
that love him. I pray God ; let me not forsake 
thy commandments. Trusting in Jesus, I desire 
always to offer from a sanctified heart ceaseless 
praises to God for the great grace vouchsafed to 
me. This is my heart's real longing. Amen." 



xvr. 

S Confei'er^e Oi'gkqi^ed. 

IfHE main purpose of our visit to Foochow 
and this interesting mission field, was to 
organize the work of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church in Fuhkien province, into an 
annual conference. The exercises of this 
conference may be said to have opened by 
the preaching of the annual sermon by Mr. Chan- 
dler, on Wednesday evening, December 19th, 
in Tieng Ang Tong, in the city of Foochow. 

The conference assembled on Thursday morn- 
ing for organization. It was an occasion of 
intense interest to myself as well as to all. 
Twenty-seven years ago, I had come to this 
city among the earlier missionaries. Twenty- 
three years ago I had left the city with but 
very little encouragement, or indication of what 
was to be the grand result. Then there was 
not a single merchant here, all the foreign trade 

that there was at that time being carried on 

223 



224 China and Japan. 

by two opium ships, located near the mouth 
of the river. Now I find a large mercantile 
settlement, filled with elegant residences and 
busy hongs. Then there was not a Church nor 
a native Christian ; now there are in this city 
three large churches of our own mission, be- 
sides several of other missions. Then w r e could 
not, by treaty rights, pass more than five miles 
beyond the city ; now our missionaries and native 
preachers have their districts and their circuits, 
reaching one hundred and fifty miles to the north 
and west, and two hundred miles to the south 
and east. Now there are over four thousand na- 
tive Christians in the three missions, and in this 
church I now see before me eighty native Chi- 
nese preachers, and between two and three hun- 
dred native Chinese Christians, representing a 
Church membership of more than two thousand, 
ready to be organized into an annual conference ! 
After appropriate devotional services we trans- 
ferred five missionaries and fifteen native preach- 
ers from the conferences in which they had 
held their membership in the United States, and 
declared the Foochow Annual Conference duly 
organized. Hu Sing Mi and N. J. Plumb were 
elected secretaries. Committees were appointed 
on Self-support, Opium, Sunday-schools, and on 
the Observance of the Sabbath. The charac- 



An Affecting Scene. 225 

ters of the presiding elders were examined and 
approved. 

There was an affecting scene when we began 
the examination of character. S. L. Baldwin, 
who had been superintendent of the mission, 
stood first on the list, and Hu Po Mi was called 
upon, as presiding elder, to represent him. The 
venerable brother arose, and said : "I can not do 
it, I can not do it;" and the tears began to roll 
down his cheeks, and he said again, "I can not 
do it. The like was never seen in China ; these 
foreign teachers have come here to teach us 
of Jesus, and now we are in an annual confer- 
ence, and I am called upon to represent the 
teacher. I can think of nothing like it but 
when the Savior insisted on washing the disci- 
ples' feet." The whole conference was much 
affected. 

S. L. Baldwin and Hu Po Mi represented the 
Foochow District; Mr. Plumb and Li Yu Mi 
represented the Hokchiang District ; Mr. Sites 
and Sia Sek Ong, the Hinghwa District. Sia Sek 
Ong said that about eighty had been kept on 
trial for not keeping the Sabbath fully. One 
brother said that Sia Sek Ong's character was his 
law and his example. Mr. Ohlinger and Yek 
Ing Kwang represented the Yongping District. 
It has been a hard year there ; much persecution 



226 China and Japan. 

and opposition. These two brethren are as Jona- 
than and David. Mr. Chandler and Hu Yong 
Mi represented the Kucheng District. Yong Mi 
said he always carried this brother (meaning Mr. 
Chandler) in his heart. After this we closed 
the first session of the Foochow Conference. 

In the afternoon there was an enthusiastic 
Sunday-school anniversary, addressed by Hu Sing 
Mi and Hu King Mi, the last of which was a 
most spirited address. He is the fifth son of 
the Hu family, a local preacher in our Church, an 
enthusiastic worker in the Sunday-school cause, 
and has a flourishing Sunday-school at Ching 
Sing Tong, where over a hundred of the heathen 
boys of the neighborhood now regularly assem- 
ble every Sunday. 

On Friday morning we determined to admit 
on trial in the conference an equal number from 
the ranks of the local preachers, as we had trans- 
ferred of the native preachers from the home 
conferences, and consequently fifteen of the most 
promising young men were admitted on trial. 
A very impressive memorial service was held in 
memory of Ling Ching Ting, who had died dur- 
ing the year. He had been ordained by Bishop 
Kingsley in 1869. When he heard of the bish- 
op's death he wept like a child. He endured trials 
of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, more- 



A Departed Hero. 227 

over, of bonds and imprisonments. His was the 
blessing of those who are "persecuted for right- 
eousness' sake." Under his labors very many 
were received into the Church on trial. He had 
a remarkable power of winning people from their 
idols to earnest inquiry into Christianity. He 
gave his best strength to the Church for sixteen 
years. Broken in health a year ago, he had still 
taken his appointment and gone to his work. 
But entirely breaking down in the Spring, he de- 
sired to be taken to his field of labor, wishing to 
die where he had worked most and suffered most. 
His death was triumphant. It was difficult for 
his brethren to speak of him, as their fast flow- 
ing tears and strong emotions prevented their 
utterance. 

A meeting on the observance of the Sab- 
bath in the afternoon showed that the native 
preachers were not disposed to lower the stand- 
ard of Sabbath observance, and that those of the 
members who are faithful in this duty are pros- 
pered of God and lose nothing by their observ- 
ance of the Sabbath-day. In the evening a 
"self-support" meeting was held, at which meas- 
ures looking to the real accomplishment of entire 
self-support in the old circuits were heartily 
approved by the leading native preachers. 

Saturday morning was taken up by the elec- 



228 China and Japan 

tion of native preachers to deacons' and elders' 
orders. One of the local preachers elected to 
deacon's orders was an old man, Sia Kai Lwang, 
the venerable father of Sia Sek Ong. A frater- 
nal meeting was also held this morning with 
delegates from the American Board and Church 
of England Mission. An interesting incident 
also happened this morning, in the presence of a 
committee of seven boys, representing the Ching 
Sing Tong Sabbath-school, desiring to see the 
kangtok, or bishop, and present the compliments 
of the school. A neat little speech was made by 
one of the oldest boys, who afterward presented 
to the bishop one hundred cards on crimson 
paper, which contained the names of the mem- 
bers of the school. It could not have been more 
neatly done in any country in the world. On 
Saturday evening a service of consecration was 
held, Mr. Ohlinger presiding and preaching, 
followed by an earnest and profitable prayer- 
meeting. 

The Sabbath of the conference was a day 
of full work and blessed enjoyment. The love- 
feast commenced at half-past eight in the morn- 
ing, in which a large number of the brethren 
gave excellent and interesting testimonies to the 
reality, the value, and the blessedness of the 
religion which they enjoyed. Some of them had 



The Native Ministry. 229 

endured serious trials and persecutions during 
the year for the cause they had espoused. To 
this day, it is not a matter of gain, but of very 
serious loss in every temporal and earthly re- 
spect to the Chinese who become Christians. It 
is not, therefore, for the hire, which is but a little 
pittance, which these native preachers get from 
the missionary society, that they enter into this 
work, but always with great pecuniary sacrifice 
and with opposition every-where, and with perse- 
cution in most places. They enter into this 
work, being called by the Holy Ghost, and sus- 
tained by a conscious, personal, Christian expe- 
rience. Every one of our presiding elders could 
immediately retire from his Christian and official 
character, and make three or four fold the 
amount of money he is receiving in the Christian 
work. The love-feast was a very precious occa- 
sion, but it is needless to put on our pages the 
testimonials of these Christian men, though many 
of them were translated for us. 

At half-past ten Hu Yong Mi, presiding elder 
of the Kucheng District, preached an excellent, 
expository sermon, encouraging and inspiring to 
the ministers, from several verses of the twelfth 
chapter of John. We were able to understand 
many sentences of this sermon and to follow the 
general subject throughout, but even more than 

'5 



230 China and Japan 

with the subject were we pleased with the sweet 
and godly spirit manifested by these Chinese 
Christians. After the sermon the deacons were 
ordained. This was an impressive ceremony, 
the entire service being read in the Chinese lan- 
guage, except the pronouncing of the words of 
ordination by the bishop, which he uttered in 
English, and which was immediately repeated 
by Mr. Baldwin in Chinese. In the afternoon, 
the native preachers preached in several places 
about the city, and the writer preached in English 
in Tieng Ang Tong. At night, Sia Sek Ong 
preached a very practical sermon to the preachers 
and five elders were ordained. 

On Monday morning we went through the 
usual routine of business of an annual confer- 
ence, the various committees bringing in stirring 
reports on all the important subjects that had 
been submitted to them. In the afternoon quite 
a regular cabinet meeting was held, in which the 
native elders entered and took their place and 
part like old, experienced presiding elders. The 
entire work was divided into five districts, and a 
native elder appointed to each, with a foreign 
missionary assigned to each district as general 
counselor with the elder. 

On Tuesday we held the final session of the 
conference. Among other reports a very satis- 



Close of the Conference. 231 

factory statistical statement was presented, show- 
ing two thousand six hundred and eighty as the 
number of members, probationers, and baptized 
children. This being Christmas Day, we could 
not but think of the celebrated Christmas Con- 
ference of 1784, for the organization of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church in the United 
States, and could not but feel that, though in a 
humbler measure, we were now organizing the 
Methodist Episcopal Church in the great empire 
of China. It is not an impossible thing that, in 
the next hundred years, there may be an almost 
equally great and powerful Methodist Episcopal 
Church in this greatest empire of Asia. 

After the general business of the Conference 
had been finished we had a Christmas sermon 
by Mr. Baldwin ; then the baptism of a child 
each for Mr. Sites, Mr. Ohlinger, and Mr. Chan- 
dler; then the administration of the Sacrament 
of the Lord's-supper, under the direction of that 
venerable and heroic man of God, the eldest of 
the Hu family, Hu Po Mi. Then we sang the 
parting hymn, and a most feeling prayer was 
offered by Hu Yong Mi, and we then called 
upon Sia Sek Ong to read out the appointments. 
And so closed the first session of the Foochow 
Annual Conference. 

The following will present to the reader the 



232 China and Japan 

answers to the usual conference questions and 
the appointments of the preachers, from which, 
and the map of a part of Fuhkien Province 
which we present, the reader will gain an excel- 
lent knowledge of the extent and distribution of 
the work of this infant conference in China: 

Foochow District. — Li Yu Mi, P. E. S. L. Baldwin, 
Missionary. Tieng-ang Tong Circuit, S. L. Baldwin, F. 
Ohlinger. Ching-Sing Tong Circuit, Li Yu Mi. Hok-ing 
Tong Circuit, Sia Heng To. Yek-yong Circuit, Wong Eung 
Chiong.* Hung-Moi Circuit, Ting Siu Kung. Lek-tu Cir- 
cuit, Hu Sing Mi, Chung Ka Eu,* Wong Meu Tang.* 
Biblical Institute and High School, F. Ohliiiger. Fookien 
Church Gazette, S. L. Baldwin. Mission Press, N. J. Plumb. 

Hok-ciiiang District. — Hu Po Mi, P. E. N.J. Plumb, 
Missionary. Hok-chiang Circuit, Siek Chiong Tieng,* Sie 
Po Mi.* Teng-tiong Circuit, Ting Kie Hwi.* Ngu-ka Cir- 
cuit, Ting Teng Nieng.* Ngu-cheng Circuit, Ngoi Ki Lang, 
U Sieu leu. Keng-kiang Circuit, Ting Neng Chiek, Ling 
Chiong Ling.* Au-ngoi Circuit, Sie Hwo Mi, U Sieu E.* 
Siek-keng Circuit, Ngu Muk Ong,* Ung Kwong Koi.* Hai- 
tang Circuit, Hwong Taik Chiong, Siek Chong Hong.* 
Kong-ing Circuit, Hu Ngwong Tang.* 

Hing-hwa District. — Sia Sek Ong, P. E. N. Sites, Mis- 
sionary. Hing-hwa Circuit, Wong Kwoh Hing, Hu Ngwong 
Ko.* Siong-tai Circuit, Ting Ing Cheng, one to be supplied. 
Pah-sai Circuit, Ting Ching Kwong, one to be supplied. 
Hang-keng Circuit, Li Cha Mi, U Sing Tung.* Keng-kau 
Circuit, Ting Soi Ling. Kia-sioh Circuit, Tang Taik Tu.* 
Pwo-hia Circuit, Ling Tang Kie.* Paek-ko-leu Circuit, Ting 
Ung Chu, Ling Hiong Chung.* Ping-hai Circuit, Tiong 
Tiong Mi,* one to be supplied. Nang-nik Circuit, Yong Taik 
Cheu. Sieng-iu Circuit, Ling Seng Eu.* Kie-tieng-li Circuit, 



:: '- Those marked thus are locnl prenchers, but assigned to regular 
appointments as the others. 






Sl'ATISTICS. 233 

Ting Kiu Seu,* Wong KingChu.* Lieng-chu-li Circuit, Ngu 
Ing Siong, one to be supplied. Ing-chung Circuit, one to be 
supplied, Cheng Chong Ming.* Taik-hwa Circuit, Ling 
Ching Chieng, Hwong Pau Seng.*' 

YoNG-PiNG District. — Yek Ing Kwang, P. E. F. Ohlin- 
ger, Missionary. Yong-ping Circuit, Taing Kwang Ing, one 
to be supplied. Chiong-hu-pwang Circuit, Ling Ming Chiong. 
Yu-ka Circuit, Tiong Seuk Pwo f * Tiong Ung Chieu.* Ta-i- 
cheng Circuit, Taing Kieng Ing, one to be supplied. Song- 
chiong Circuit, Hwong Taik Lik,* Ting Chai Wok.* Sa- 
kaing Circuit, Pang Ting Hie. Ing-ang Circuit, Tang King 
Tong,* Sieu Ing Tong.* To-ngwong Circuit, Sia Lieng Li. 

Ku-cheng District. — Hu Yong Mi, P. E. D. W. 
Chandler, Missionary, Ku-cheng Circuit, Hu Yong Mi, Sie 
Seng Chang,* Tiong Ming Taik.* Lwang-leng Circuit, Ngu 
Ing Hwak,* Ling Hieng Seng.* Lo-kang and Hwang-te- 
yong Circuit, Ting Hung Ngwong,* Chung Ka- La.* Teng- 
yong Circuit, Tiong Ming Tung. Keu-teng Circuit, Ting 
Kieng Seng.* Sek-chek-tu Circuit, Chiong Taik Liong 3 Ngu 
Pwo Ing.* Tong-hwang Circuit, Li Nga Hung.* Ku-te 
Circuit, Lau Kwang Hung, Ting Tieng Ling,* Ting Teng 
Nguk.* Seng-yong Circuit, Wong Hok Ku.* 

The statistics of the Conference are as fol- 
lows: Preachers in the Conference, 35: native 
preachers actually appointed to the work, 72 ; 
local preachers, 60; members, 1,235; proba- 
tioners, 776 ; deaths, 22 ; baptized children, 542 ; 
baptized adults, 145 ; churches and chapels, 60; 
value, $10,190.58; parsonages for native preach- 
ers, 15; value, $1,601.70; contributed for sup- 
port of preachers, $341 ; for support of presiding 
elders, $280; for church building, $1,024; for 
the poor, $98.13; for Church expenses, $294.84; 



234 China and Japan 

Sunday-schools, 42; scholars, 1,019; total con- 
tributions, $2,041.30. 

When we consider that the scale of wages 
and prices in China is less than one-tenth of the 
standard in the United States, and that ten or 
twelve cents a day is large wages for a China- 
man, this amount should be justly considered as 
a large and generous contribution, being equal 
to ten times the amount in a country where the 
scale of wages is at least one dollar a day. 

Immediately after the adjournment of the 
Conference we had a consultation with the mis- 
sionaries and presiding elders as to the distribu- 
tion of the missionary money appropriated to 
the native preachers. The rate was fixed at 
three dollars a month for each of the preachers, 
a dollar and a half for his wife, and seventy-five 
cents for each child. As large a part of this as 
is possible is paid by each circuit and district, 
and the balance is then paid by the mission. 
The Conference itself passed a resolution that all 
the circuits in the older work ought to be able 
to support their own preachers in five years from 
this time, and recommended that missionary 
money should not be paid to the preacher, 
but to the stewards of the charge, as supple- 
mentary to whatever they could do, and to be 
administered by the stewards ; and they also 



Preachers' Salaries. 235 

passed a rule that the amount appropriated to 
any circuit should gradually diminish from year 
to year, and cease entirely within a limited 
period. 

At this scale of prices it really looks strange 
to an American to see such men as Hu Yong Mi, 
Hu Po Mi, and Sia Sek Ong, men who, in char- 
acter and ability, if they had the same experience 
and acquaintance with American life as they have 
with that of China, would be qualified to fill the 
highest places in the Church in the United 
States, receiving as the compensation for their 
labor three dollars for themselves, one dollar and 
a half for their wives, and seventy-five cents for 
each child, making, in the case of the saintly 
Hu Yong Mi, six dollars a month for his inval- 
uable services. Sia Sek Ong for some years has 
refused to receive any missionary money, and 
has depended entirely upon the contributions of 
his district, which has been able to contribute to 
him about this same rate of pay. Surely these 
men can not be suspected of secular or merce- 
nary motives in engaging in this Christian serv- 
ice. We were profoundly impressed with the 
godly sincerity and earnest devotion of all these 
native preachers. No one can look upon them 
for a moment without believing that God is with 
them, and that he is using them as his chosen 



236 China and Japan. 

instruments for the accomplishment of great re- 
sults in China. 

At one of the sessions of the Conference an 
interesting report was made of the theological 
school under the charge of brother Ohlinger. 
This school is in the same building as the print- 
ing and book establishment — a large, three-story 
building, with basement, situated immediately to 
the west of Tieng Ang Tong. There were then 
in the school thirteen young men, most of them 
licensed local preachers, and the rest exhorters — 
a fine-looking body of youth, who sat from day 
to day with us, observing the doings of the Con- 
ference. These young men are preparing for 
the ministry, and are bright and promising, se- 
lected from different parts of the work. It was 
a pleasure to look upon them, and see that God 
was preparing young men to take the places 
of some of these fathers, who will soon now 
begin to pass away. The Conference considered 
the cases of seven different young men, and 
recommended their admission into the school. 
There is also, in connection with it, a "high 
school," in which there are ten or twelve smaller 
boys, some of them sons of the preachers. Hu 
Po Mi and Hu Yong Mi have each a son, grown 
to young manhood, in the theological school. 
Indeed, we have touched the fourth generation 



The Girls' B oarding-School. 237 

of Methodists in this remarkable Hu family. 
The venerable father of all, among the first of 
our Christian converts, passed several years ago 
to his reward in heaven. Four of his sons are 
now active in the ministry — three of them in the 
Conference, and one a local preacher. A son, 
as we have seen, of Po Mi and of Yong Mi is 
in the theological school, and we had the pleas- 
ure of seeing a bright little boy at Kucheng 
baptized into the Christian Church, a son of the 
son of Hu Yong Mi. 

The girls' boarding-school, under the charge 
of the Misses Woolston, was also reported to the 
Conference and visited by the preachers. This 
is a very fine, large building of two stories and 
basement, situated in the mission compound. The 
kitchen, wash-room, etc., are below, and on the 
first floor are the school-rooms, dining-room, and 
two bedrooms. The second floor is divided into 
four sleeping rooms. The beds are very simple, 
and two or three girls sleep in each. Every 
thing about the building and school shows neat- 
ness and good order, and the presence of good 
discipline. There are thirty -one girls in the 
school, seventeen of whom are foundlings, or 
cast-off girls. This school has done excellent 
service in our mission, and has trained up a large 
number of Christian young ladies, some of 



238 China and Japan. 

whom have become wives of our native preach- 
ears, and some have become Bible-women, doing 
good service for the cause of Christ. 

A report was also made of the hospital and 
medical service, under the direction of Sigourney 
Trask, M. D. She has a fine residence and hos- 
pital building, situated at some distance to the 
south-west of the mission compound. Miss 
Trask has done excellent service, and has won 
golden opinions in the mission and among the 
natives. 




XVII. 



dl|ii\e^e Wedding ii\ Si^ I<ife. 

IliOON after reaching Foochow, and just 
before our trip into the country to Ku- 
cheng, we received the following note from 
a wealthy native merchant, inviting us to 
attend the ceremonies of a wedding to 
take place at his home. We give the 
note of invitation : 

' ' Mr. Tiong A Hok presents his compliments 
to Mr. and Mrs. Wiley, and requests the favor 
of their presence at his residence on the follow- 
ing occasions, connected with his fifth younger 
brother's marriage, namely: on Friday, December 
14th, at twelve o'clock, to inspect the presents sent 
by the parents of the bride, and at one o'clock, 
to tiffin; on Saturday, December 15th, at nine 
o'clock A. M:, to witness the marriage ceremony; 
at two o'clock P. M., to inspect the salutations 
of the bridegroom and bride to their friends; and 
at four o'clock P. M. to dinner, Chinese style. 
"Foochow, 1 ith December, 1877." 

239 



240 China and Japan. 

It was a matter of very great regret that 1 
was not able to attend these ceremonies, an op- 
portunity of witnessing a phase of Chinese life 
but seldom presented to a foreigner. It occurred 
during the time that I had arranged for my visit 
to Kucheng; but, fortunately, my wife was 
able to attend the ceremonies, and was cer- 
tainly able to give a better account of what took 
place than would have been possible for me to 
do, as it would have been entirely beyond my 
depth to descend into the mysteries of Chinese 
etiquette and dress. I therefore give to the 
reader a description of this interesting Chinese 
wedding in high life from the pen of Mrs. Wiley. 

We were invited for two days— the first day 
to view the presents, which consisted of six 
chests of dresses and clothing, besides dressers 
of other articles, ten boxes, containing head or- 
naments, rings, and bracelets, and a quantity of 
britannia dishes, each containing presents. There 
was also an immense tureen, made in the form 
of a lotus-flower, with leaves and stems, which 
contained the bridal collar, consisting of a series 
of pendants embroidered in silk and pearls. 
Then a peculiar-shaped dish held the head-bands, 
and another, melon-shaped, contained the girdle. 
The head ornaments were beautiful, composed 
of pearls and of the feathers of the kingfisher, 



Bridal Presents. 24 t 

forming a rare and exquisite combination. The 
dresses were of silk, richly embroidered and 
of all colors; then, in addition, a chest of silks in 
pieces. The old gentleman, the father of the 
bride, said she would never need any more 
clothes. He talks quite good English. The 
bridal bed was hung in rare silks, embroidered 
richly, being placed in an alcove, where the 
happy couple sit while the groom lifts the veil 
and beholds, for the first time, his bride. The 
bed itself is very simple, being bench-like in 
form, covered with cane, and with the most 
elegant of coverings, one scarlet silk, very rare, 
with richly hued, tricolored bprder, and another 
of lovely green silk, of an exquisite shade and 
very handsome. 

After examining these presents and various 
parts of the house, the foreign guests were in- 
vited to a sumptuous lunch, served in the foreign 
house ; for Mr. A Hok keeps two houses, both 
within the same inclosure, one in entirely Chinese 
style, and the other in almost entirely foreign or 
European style. In passing from the Chinese 
house to the foreign, we enter the servants' din- 
ing hall, which consisted only of a small room 
with stone floor and two tables, and then entered 
the corridor which connects the two buildings, 
where we found a very fine collection of plants 



242 China and Japan 

of many different kinds trained to imitate birds, 
boats, fans, and Chinese and foreign houses. 

We admire and pass along, wondering what 
strange sight will present itself next, when we 
came to a flight of stairs, handsomely carpeted 
in our own Brussels carpet, which we ascend, and 
passing still another flight, entered a second cor- 
ridor, which opened into a large, elegantly fur- 
nished parlor. Here again we felt at home; 
foreign pictures, sofas, easy-chairs, bric-a-brac, 
every thing you would see in an elegant parlor 
at home, except that the specimens of Chinese 
porcelain and lacquer which we found here w T ere 
much handsomer than any we ever saw at home. 
To this parlor is connected, by a folding door, a 
cheerful sitting-room, furnished fully as elegantly 
as the parlor, with a book-case filled with curiosi- 
ties from different parts of the world. Adjoin- 
ing this was a sleeping chamber, with all the 
foreign appointments, all of which the proprietor 
shows you with a very self-satisfied air, pleased 
that he can make you so much at home. 

At one o'clock the lunch, or tiffin, was served, 
for which we retraced our steps and found our- 
selves in another beautiful waiting-room, fitted 
up differently from any of the rest, with both 
Chinese and foreign ornaments; and immediately 
adjoining this was the dining-room. Here, again, 




JJM'MLti .. 



The Lunch. 245 

we were surprised by the taste and elegance 
displayed in the arrangement of the table, as well 
as the viands served to the guests. The table 
was equal to any that I have ever seen at home. 
The chief decoration of the table was a beautiful 
center-piece, a solid column or pyramid of white 
flowers, ornamented by a magnificent basket of 
orange blossoms and buds, forming tendrils, and 
drooping over, making a lattice work over the 
white camellias, and the other flowers which they 
imitate so beautifully in rice paper. The table 
ware was of very fine white china, with a narrow 
gold band, and the intermingling of silver dishes 
made it quite homelike ; and only for the China- 
men at either end, we could well imagine our- 
selves at an elegant entertainment at home. It 
presented, by its foreign aspects, a decided con- 
trast to what we felt the next day at the Chinese 
wedding supper. 

The lunch was served in course, as we do at 
home, and though our host was an idolater, the 
servants, at the lifting of his hand stood quietly, 
not to say reverently, until the blessing was asked 
by one of the missionary friends. 

On the second day we were invited to see the 

arrival of the bridal chair and procession, which 

was a very imposing scene. The entrance to the 

Chinese house is a double court. In the inner 

j6 



246 China and Japan. 

court was stationed a band of music, and every 
chair that arrived was greeted with fearfully dis- 
cordant sounds, supposed to be music, but really 
to us it was dire confusion. A little off from the 
inner court is the reception-room, richly hung in 
scarlet and embossed cloth. Adjoining this is an 
inner room, called the '•' Ancestral Hall," con- 
taining a shrine, the grandfather's picture, an- 
cestral tablets, and various relics, with incense 
continually burning. This room was hung in 
scarlet cloth, embroidered in wreaths of gold, 
the central design being an eagle. The walls 
were illuminated with red and green lanterns, 
with embroidered sides, and others of silver 
lighted with colored oils. The bridal chair was 
covered with scarlet cloth. The windows were 
filled with handsome images, representing the 
wedding feast in all its phases. 

The chair, carefully closed, is brought into 
the reception-room and set down, where it re- 
mains for a while. Then the women in waiting 
approach the chair, and repeat sentences which 
mean peace and happiness ; then a strip of red 
carpet is laid down, and the bride comes in, 
enveloped in a red silk veil, supported by the 
women and led by a boy, twelve years old, 
dressed very showily in silk and satin, with a 
cap, forming a crescent-shaped crown in solid 



The Veiled Bride. 



247 



gold. The little maid of the bride was five years 
old, and was dressed much as the boy. The 
bride then disappeared for a short time, then 
came out and walked around, still covered, and 




made her salutations, then retired to the alcove 
to be seen by the groom. But I have not yet de- 
scribed the dresses of the bride and groom. Her 
dress was scarlet satin throughout, embroidered 



248 China and Japan 

and brocaded. The groom wore a plum-colored 
satin robe, with a hat that looked like an in- 
verted 'wash-basin, with a tassel on top. This 
was worn for the ceremony, but afterward was 
changed for the salutations, and was just re- 
versed, and seemed to be a wash-basin standing 
erect, with large tassels and glass ball rising out 
of its center. The father of the bride, an im- 
mense man, wore an underskirt of solid gold 
embroidery, with an overdress of lavender bro- 
cade satin, and over that again a plum-colored 
satin brocaded in immense characters, denoting 
longevity. The robe was completed with im- 
mense sable cuffs, and a cap of the same fur with 
spreading scarlet tassels. You may imagine that 
his costume was very imposing. The mother 
wore a plaited underskirt in blue, crimson, and 
yellow silk, with the same plum-colored overdress 
as her husband, embroidered in golden medal- 
lions, with an immense bird in the center of each 
and a necklace of very large beads with long 
pendants of agate and cornelian. 

The bride and groom now reappear from the 
alcove, and the marriage ceremony occurs, which 
consists in kneeling on scarlet mats and worship- 
ing heaven and earth, bowing a number of times, 
the women in the meanwhile continually repeat- 
ing sentences of peace and happiness. After 



Saluting the Bride. 249 

this, two cups made of cocoanut wood, joined 
by a red cord, are put to the lips of the bride 
and groom a number of times; then continued 
bowing and worshiping, and then the bridal pair 
are again lost to view. After this, we were ush- 
ered into the ancestral hall, where the saluta- 
tions to the parents and friends began on the 
part of the bride. This consisted in bowing to 
the father and mother, then to each guest in 
turn, each presenting the bride, as she salutes 
them, a red satin package, containing something 
as a gift ; then as she bows before her husband's 
ancestors, the guests each placed some ornament 
on her already overburdened head, until it looked 
like a flower garden. Some one put in a large 
bunch of oleander leaves and flowers, so that it 
looked like a small tree taking root. I do not 
know the significance of this last gift, but it, 
of course, has one, as do all the other cere- 
monies. Not until the bride has been unveiled, 
and the groom has seen her first, can she be 
inspected by the guests ; then she is brought 
forward, placed in an alcove, and the ceremony 
of inspection proceeds. She is perfectly passive, 
and to merely look at her you would suppose 
her to be dead. She does not lift her eyes 
during the entire day, nor is she allowed to 
touch a morsel of food. You are, as a guest, 



250 China and Japan. 

expected carefully to examine all her clothing and 
her ornaments, to admire her hands and feet, 
and examine minutely her jewelry and apparel. 

After all this comes the dinner in the best 
art of the Chinese caterer, consisting of twenty 
courses and nineteen standing dishes. The bill 
of fare was as follows: 1st, four plates of sweet- 
meats ; 2d, birds' nests mixed with pigeon's 
eggs ; 3d, boiled fowls' wings ; 4th, crabs' meats 
mixed with fishes' fins; 5th, boiled fishes' brain; 
6th, beche de mer, mixed with fowl and aspara- 
gus ; 7th, fried shell-fish ; 8th, rolled fowls with 
walnuts ; 9th, sweet pie ; 10th, almond soup ; 
nth, fried quail; 12th, boiled fish; 13th, green 
seeds; 14th, heated pigs' stomach; 15th, shrimps; 
1 6th, salt pie; 17th, ham soup; 18th, stewed 
mushroom; 19th, turnip cake; 20th, sliced fowls. 

Taking the ceremony throughout, it was espe- 
cially magnificent, and one that foreigners do not 
often have the privilege of beholding. 






xvur. 
fSmong tl\e ¥eir\j)le^. 

|N the thoroughfare running along the south 
side of the river, a little before reaching 
the bridge, you pass the front of an im- 
posing temple, dedicated to Matsoo Po, 
the goddess of sailors, said to have been 
erected chiefly by the contributions of 
merchants and sailors from the city of Ningpo, 
and hence commonly called the Ningpo temple. 
There is a large trade between Foochow and 
Ningpo, and many native junks pass to and fro 
between the two cities. At one time we visited 
this temple, and were permitted to see at once 
an example of Chinese idolatrous worship, and 
of the close affiliation between these idolatrous 
services and theatrical representations and jug- 
glers' tricks. 

We visited the temple in the afternoon, 
passed through its various apartments, extending 
from the street front through several ascending 

251 



252 China and Japan. 

buildings, rising on the hill-side, far back toward 
the top of the hill. After passing through the 
front gate you enter a large court, surrounded 
on all sides by galleries, supported by columns 
fantastically carved and richly gilded. At the 
rear end of the court is an open building, in 
which is placed an image of Matsoo Po, and also 
images of her attendants. In front of them is 
the table containing the incense urn and the 
various implements for sacrificial services. This 
room is finished elaborately after the style of the 
Chinese, and is a very elegant one. Carved and 
gilded columns support the roof and frescoed 
ceiling, from which hang rich lanterns and chan- 
deliers, some of glass and some of colored and 
ornamented silk, the whole room presenting a 
rather pleasing appearance, even to a foreigner. 
Still back of this building, at a higher elevation, 
on the hill -side, are other buildings connected 
by winding passages, some of them passing 
through those peculiar, artificial grottoes, by 
which, in a very small piece of ground, the 
Chinese are able to make an appearance of a 
large space, occupied by grottoes, avenues, 
water-falls, etc. 

By invitation — or, perhaps we should more 
properly say, by permission — we returned to the 
temple in the evening to witness the peculiar 



Temple of Mats oo Po. 253 

services, combining religious ceremonies and the 
Chinese theater. The temple was in a magnifi- 
cent state of illumination, exhibiting an assem- 
blage of the most splendid lanterns, and the in- 
terior was embellished with artificial trees and 
flowers, of the most intricate forms and beauti- 
ful workmanship. We entered from the front 
and passed through the first building, which was 
provided with a stage, carved and gilded, for 
theatrical exhibitions. We then found ourselves 
in the spacious court, surrounded on all sides by 
the galleries of the temple, now festooned with 
folds of silk and crape and colored paper. At 
the front part of the court was the stage, now 
well lighted by means of large colored candles, 
the rear occupied by the "orchestra," which 
was gratifying the natives with what they called 
music. 

Crossing the court, we ascended the festooned 
steps, and were on the platform which faced the 
stage. The platform and the area above it were 
highly ornamented with large lanterns, made of 
a species of glass said to be manufactured from 
rice. Behind the railing which ran along the 
rear of this platform we saw a great display of 
artificial plants and flowers, and we felt anxious 
to pass through the gate. We met with a little 
opposition here ; but in a few moments some 



254 China and Japan. 

gentlemen who were within the inclosure called 
to let us pass, and we were in the midst of a 
brilliant exhibition of Chinese skill in the manu- 
facture of artificial objects from paper. These 
ornaments were principally arranged on three 
long tables stretching across the area of the 
sanctuary. We took a leisurely walk around 
these tables burdened with beauties and luxuries. 
Passing down one side till we came near to one 
end of the temple we saw before us, arching 
out from the back wall, a magnificent shrine, 
surmounted by an exquisitely carved and gilded 
canopy, beneath which sat the immense image 
of the goddess of sailors, supported on each side 
by the small but brilliant images of her waiting- 
maids. 

The tables, which seem to have been arranged 
with reference to this shrine, as well as the lux- 
uries which burdened them, were intended as 
offerings to the goddess. The first table in front 
of the idols was covered with paper plants and 
flowers. In the midst of these artificial orna- 
ments we observed something real and substan- 
tial, in the form of roasted chickens and geese, 
also a couple of roasted pigs and a well-dressed 
kid, all neatly ornamented, and interspersed 
among the artificial shrubbery. The second 
table was occupied by a large variety of fruits 



Theatrical Entertainment. 255 

and nuts, tastefully arranged among the artificial 
flowers. The third table contained instruments 
of worship. Along the sides of the sanctuary 
were arranged low tables, on which were placed 
small glass-covered cases, containing quite a mu- 
seum of entomology, exhibiting well -prepared 
specimens of grasshoppers, beetles, wasps, etc. 
The walls were overhung with pictures exhibiting 
the power and skill of the goddess in overcom- 
ing the storms of the ocean and rescuing mari- 
ners from perilous situations. 

After spending about an hour in examining 
the curiosities of this idolatrous sanctuary, we 
were very politely invited to walk up to one of 
the galleries to witness the performances on the 
stage. The first scene which presented itself, 
and which was really interesting on account of 
the skillful management of it, was that of bring- 
ing on the stage a huge dragon with a serpentine 
tail, giving the whole animal a length, perhaps, 
of fifty feet. It was made of some transparent 
texture, supported by wooden rings arranged 
along its length at short intervals, and terminated 
at one end by a huge dragon-like head, and at 
the other by a heavy curved tail. Then, through- 
out the length, lights were arranged. When the 
great figure was set in motion by those who bore 
it, apparently pursuing a large ball of fire, which 



256 China and Japan. 

was borne before the dragon, it presented a 
really beautiful and interesting appearance. It 
seemed for all the world just like a great, fiery 
dragon, twisting and coiling itself in all possible 
shapes, trying to catch the globe of fire. 

This was followed by a drama, which exhib- 
ited many of the customs of the imperial palace 
and government of China. This concluded, 
there immediately followed a sort of farce, which 
from the scenes exhibited, as nearly as I could 
make them out, probably represented " family 
broils." When this was ended we made prepa- 
rations to leave ; and on again reaching the 
sanctuary we found a number of well-dressed 
gentlemen ranged before the third table, paying 
their devotions to the goddess, who protects their 
business. They were burning incense, and per- 
forming various prostrations and genuflections, 
and muttering words which we did not under- 
stand. Finding that our presence just at that 
time was not very desirable, we left. 

At another time we visited the Temple of 
Confucius, situated within the city walls. While 
passing through the long suburban street leading 
to the city we met a large funeral procession of 
a military mandarin, whose body was about to 
be taken to Canton. He had died several months 
before, and only at this time had the necessary 



Funeral Procession. 257 

preparations been consummated for conveying 
his body to its resting-place in Canton. First 
there came a band of music, made up of about 
thirty different musicians, giving utterance to 
sounds that to our ears were the most horrible 
discord. Perhaps, as it was a funeral, it was in- 
tended to be discord and not music. After the 
band followed about thirty miserable looking 
beggars and boys and dirty coolies, carrying 
square frames supported on short poles, bearing 
on them the titles and honors of the deceased. 
Then came a company of Buddhist priests, with 
their bare and shaven heads and long, yellow 
robes, muttering something as they passed along ; 
then the great, yellow umbrella and fan, indicat- 
ing the rank of the deceased ; then several bam- 
boo frames, carried by coolieS, bearing in the 
first one a roasted pig of full size, and on another 
a roasted kid, and on another ornamented cakes, 
and another with oranges, and still another with 
nuts and fruits. These were offerings to the 
spirits of the deceased's ancestors and to his own 
soul. Then came a chair with a portrait of a 
lady, which we supposed was the portrait of the 
mother of the deceased mandarin, and then a 
chair with the tablet of the deceased. This was 
simply a plain scarlet board six inches wide and 
two feet long, terminated at the top with a carved 



258 China and Japan. 

and gilded head. This would subsequently be 
placed in the ancestral hall of the family, and 
would be worshiped for all time to come. Then 
came another band of music, and then a cata- 
falque, with the coffin, wrapped in crimson 
flannel ; then the real mourners, in white sack- 
cloth ; then the hired mourning women, and then 
some well-dressed men on foot. Altogether, it 
was quite an imposing affair, a la chinoise. 

As we passed along the main street leading 
to the temple of Confucius, we reached a Mo- 
hammedan mosque, and turned aside to view 
for a little while this building, plain and sim- 
ple in contrast with the aim at show and gor- 
geousness of the idolatrous temples. Of course, 
no idols were here, and the whole was kept in 
a degree of cleanliness really refreshing to a 
stranger in China. During a little conversation 
with the Mohammedan priest, who was really 
very polite and courteous, he made the remark 
to us as Christians, that we worship God as re- 
vealed to the world by Jesus, and that they 
worshiped the same God as revealed to the 
world by Mohammed. Mohammedanism has 
never gained any very great hold in China. A 
few mosques are found in some of the larger 
cities, and it manifests no aggressive spirit. 

We at length reached the temple of Con- 






A Confucian Temple. 261 

fucius, which is, perhaps, the most beautiful 
temple in the city of Foochow. It was burned 
down a few years ago, and, with most aston- 
ishing promptness, through the contributions 
of the literati and officers, was rebuilt on a still 
grander scale than before. In Peking, Shanghai, 
Foochow, and Canton I visited the temples of 
Confucius. In every instance I found them the 
most magnificent, extensive, and costly buildings 
of the city, except only the imperial and govern- 
mental buildings. There are said to be sixty- 
three temples in honor of this great sage in the 
Fuhkien province, ten of them in the depart- 
ment or Foo, to which the city belongs, and two 
located within the city itself. 

These temples are the same in structure in all 
parts of the empire, differing generally only in 
the costliness of the material and finish. A 
large area is surrounded by a high wall, entered 
by massive gates ; then an open area, flanked on 
both sides with low buildings, and entered by a 
series of buildings crossing the area. Through 
these you pass by another pair of massive gates, 
and are in another area or court; flanked again 
on each side by a long, covered colonnade, in 
which are tablets inscribed to the most illustrious 
of the philosopher's disciples. The center of 

the area is variously occupied. At the rear 

17 



262 China and Japan. 

of this open court is the main temple, large and 
magnificent, according to the place and the means 
of the people. The large, central room of the 
main building is the place of ceremonies. On 
each side are the gilded tablets of the twelve 
apostles and first disciples. In the rear is an 
alcove for the tablet of Confucius. The tablet, 
say six feet high and three broad, of fine lac- 
quered work, with gold letters, stands erect in a 
stone pedestal of marble or granite. On it are 
inscribed these words, "The most holy master, 
Kong Che's place." On the right is a large, 
framed motto, reading, ' ' Of all people born, not 
yet his like." In the center is another, in- 
scribed, "For ten thousand ages his scholarship 
will be manifest;" and on the left another, 
"Like heaven and earth he endures." 

To this temple, and into this marble or 
granite columned room, are accustomed to come 
twice a year, in the second and eighth months, 
the officers and literati of the land, to pay their 
most devout reverence, if not real worship, to 
this tablet. Foreigners very seldom witness these 
imposing ceremonies, which are performed before 
daylight in the morning, and even the common 
people themselves are rigidly excluded, and only 
mandarins, who are literary graduates of the 
highest distinction, officiate upon these occasions. 



The Ceremonies. 263 

As these ceremonies have been but seldom 
witnessed by foreigners and that the reader may 
himself be able to judge of the idolatrous char- 
acter of this service rendered to Confucius, I am 
permitted to use the following description of 
the ceremonies, witnessed by Dr. Wentworth, a 
former missionary of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church in Foochow: 

' 'Although the services began before daylight 
in the morning, in our anxiety to see, we were 
there an hour too early. But better that than 
five minutes too late, or we could not have en- 
tered at all. A burst of music and a shout at 
length indicated the coming of the magnates. 
The first business was to get 'the foreigners 1 
out of the sacred precincts, and a mandarin 
of high rank came to request us to go outside, 
enforcing his request with the natural plea that 
'if you were worshiping in your churches you 
would not wish us to come in and disturb you/ 
We replied, 'Certainly not, and we have not 
come in hither to disturb you, but to see the 
rites, and if we may not remain inside, pray let 
us stand next to one of the great doors on the 
portico outside, where we may sec what is pass- 
ing both within and without.' To this he con- 
sented, fnuch to the displeasure of the officers' 
servants, a crowd of whom were driven from the 



264 China and Japan 

portico without ceremony, though they insisted 
they 'had as good a right there as those for- 
eigners. ' They were more anxious, however, to 
see us than the worship. ' You see them every 
day in the year, ' said the remorseless lictor, under 
a hat like a sugar loaf, with a fearful crack of 
his long whip. 

"The platform was cleared, and the ceremo- 
nies began. The darkness was dispelled by rows 
of gaudy lanterns and a forest of blazing torches. 
The court was filled with mandarins and their 
servants, and privileged spectators from the lit- 
erary class crowded all the available space below. 
In front of the great central door of the temple, 
on the portico, was a band of musicians, and 
another of boys, fantastically dressed in the re- 
galia of the occasion. Within were musicians, 
chanting vocally, accompanied by the instruments 
without, the praises of the sage. The loud 
voice of the crier within the temple, and the loud 
response of the herald without, indicated that all 
was ready. Clouds of incense filled the temple, 
while two or three mandarins, in full official dress 
and caps, preceded by attendants, ascended the 
steps and entered the lofty doors on the other 
side, prostrating themselves, with the head to the 
pavement, before the tablet successively, and 
offering the various articles placed in their hands 



The Offerings. 265 

by the attendants for that purpose to Confucius 
and his favorite followers. This was repeated 
three times in succession, the officers retiring 
and re-entering with the same stately ceremony 
on each occasion. The offerings were animal 
and vegetable. On a broad table in front of the 
shrine or altar of the tablet of Confucius lay, 
shrouded, the carcass of a whole ox, denuded 
of its skin, and on the other side of him a kid, 
a pig, and a goat. On the altar were vases of 
flowers and plates of cake, provisions in such 
quantity that the philosopher might gratify his 
immediate appetite, as well as lay in a stock for 
salting down. 

' ' Before the shrines of the twelve disciples 
were pigs and goats, but the seventy outsiders 
were obliged to content themselves with offerings 
of grain and vegetables alone. We departed 
before the ceremony was concluded, in order to 
inspect the contents of a number of urn -like 
vessels, containing apparently a quart or two 
each of rice, millet, wheat, and other grains and 
vegetables, and found our Protestant fondness 
for the true and the real somewhat shocked by 
discovering that the mouths of the vessels had 
been ingeniously pasted over with paper, on 
which a thin layer of grain had been strewn, so 
as to look like a full vessel. Inquiring after the 



266 China and Japan. 

reason of this rather Romish practice of endeav- 
oring to cheat the denizens of the spirit-world, 
we were told that the "form and the idea" were 
all that were necessary. 

1 ' At one point in the ceremony the official 
kneeled before the shrine of Confucius, at a 
respectful distance, and in a loud voice chanted 
a hymn of prayer or praise. The ordinary 
chants were very monotonous, consisting of four 
notes, perpetually repeated. The last offering 
was material for clothing — a kind of coarse silk 
in large patches, first offered bodily in the tem- 
ple, and then taken down into the court and 
burned, that it might become spirit -silk in the 
other world. The Buddhists usually offer ready- 
made clothing, stamped on paper, and burn 
whole sheets covered with pictures of hats and 
frocks and pantaloons, with the idea that they 
become actual hats, coats, and pants in the other 
state ; though if the fire does not enlarge the 
articles, or the souls of the wearers are not 
shrunk to lilliputian dim ensio ns, the patterns are 
rather scanty. I saved a piece of the material 
from the fire, to see whether it was real silk and 
not paper, which, from the discovery of one as- 
tonishing fraud in their worship, we thought 
might answer, instead of the cloth, for "the 
form and idea." In this state of being you 



Sacrificial Paper. 267 

might as well expect to deceive Satan as a 
Chinaman ; but as soon as he has died his rela- 
tives send after him the thinnest bits of tin and 
copper leaf, and even brown paper, through the 
fire, into the other world, with the apprehension 
that if it does not convert it into actual silver 
and gold the spirits will never know the dif- 
ference. 

' l About the first gray streakings of the dawn 
of the morning the ceremony is concluded, the 
torches are extinguished, and the officers with 
their retinues slowly retire." 





XIX. 



doi}fudu^. 



<n? 



|ppOR more than two thousand years the rev- 
iill erence exhibited in the preceding chapter 

fhas been thus paid to this man. " Never/ ' 
says M. Hue, "has it been given to any 
f mortal to exercise, during so many cent- 
' uries, so extensive an empire over his 
fellow-creatures, or to receive homage so much 
like true worship, although every one knows 
perfectly well that Confucius was simply a mortal 
man, who lived in the principality of Lausin six 
centuries before the Christian era." In all this 
time the glory of his name is undimmed, if, in- 
deed, it may not be truly said to have increased. 
Even at this day it is scarcely possible to con- 
ceive, without witnessing its manifestations, the 
great enthusiasm which still pervades all classes 
of Chinese life for this venerable name. Tem- 
ples, the most magnificent of the country, are 
268 



The Father of Learning. 269 

erected in all the cities and most of the large 
towns, consecrated to his memory, and dedicated 
to what we can scarcely refrain from calling his 
worship ; his images and tablets are found in 
nearly all public buildings, in all the halls of lit- 
erary examinations, in all the schools, and in all 
the private residences of most of the literati of 
the empire. His writings, produced more -than 
twenty centuries ago, constitute not simply the 
elements of Chinese literature, but the substance 
and measurement of Chinese education and liter- 
ary excellence. No man has ever dared to call 
in question his opinions or dissent from his 
aphorisms, while succeeding philosophers and 
scholars, supposing that the very highest point 
of excellence had been attained by him, have 
contented themselves with studying and com- 
menting upon his productions. His books con- 
stitute the text-books in all the schools and the 
basis of the literary examinations ; and even to 
this day a knowledge of these books is the foun- 
dation of all literary and official excellence in 
the empire. His authority is the last appeal on 
all questions of morality and political economy ; 
a quotation from him often fastens an imperial 
edict itself; and perhaps it may be said with 
safety that throughout the whole empire of 
China a quotation from the writings of Confucius 



270 China and Japan. 

constitutes an ipse dixit before which men of all 
classes stand in mute submission. 

This long-continued and wide-spread devotion 
to a mere man stands out alone in the history of 
the world, and is somewhat difficult to explain. 
I may remark here that there have been many 
revolutions in China since the days of Confucius, 
changes of dynasties, conquests by Mongols and 
Manchus ; and yet in every instance Confucius 
has conquered the conquerors. His morality is 
also the controlling moral influence of Japan to 
this day, interpenetrating both Shintoism and 
Buddhism, preserving the one from inanity and 
the other from absolute corruption. Temples 
are here also erected for his worship, and his 
aphorisms are almost as authoritative in Japan 
as in China. 

How can we account for all this? Had he 
given to the Chinese a system of religion which 
had won the people to him as religious devotees, 
as did Sakya-muni in the Buddhism of India 
and China, we could simply say his religion oc- 
cupied the ground first, and occupied it well. 
But Confucius gave no religion to the Chinese. 
Could we say that his system had degenerated 
into a superstitious idolatry of himself, as Taou- 
ism has done in reference to Laou-kiun, it would 
explain the circumstances in accordance with a 



The Patron Saint of China. 271 

very strong tendency of the human mind. But 
Confucianism is not so degenerated, nor is Con- 
fucius an object of superstitious veneration. To 
this day he is looked upon as a simple citizen, 
born two thousand three hundred years ago in 
the little kingdom of Loo, filling for a few years 
an important office in his native kingdom, devot- 
ing the most of his life to the reformation of 
the morals and politics of his country, and dy- 
ing, crowned with laurels, in good old age. 
Confucius is not a god, unless, in view of the 
popular opinion that his manes are still interested 
in the welfare of China, and still concerned in 
watching over and directing its interests, we 
might say he is the tutelary deity of China ; but, 
even then, it would be more proper to call him 
the patron saint of the Chinese. 

The secret of this veneration is found in the 
perfect adaptation of the lessons of Confucius to 
the character and wants of the Chinese mind. 
The Chinese care nothing for abstract or meta- 
physical ideas, take no interest in long philo- 
sophical speculations ; theosophy, cosmogony, 
the origin and destiny of man, are questions 
about which they feel but little concern. Hue 
has well said: "They ask of time only what may 
suffice for life ; of science and letters what is 
required to fill official employment ; of the great- 



272 China and Japan. 

est principles only their practical consequences; 
and of morality, nothing but the political and 
utilitarian part." This is just what Confucius 
has given them. He has drawn for them, from 
the ancient records of the empire, and from the 
suggestions of his own genius, an admirable 
system of politico-moral philosophy, so emi- 
nently practical, so conservative and utilitarian, 
that it only deserves the name of a philosophy 
from the nature of the subjects, and not from 
the manner in which he has treated them. Confu- 
cius was not a speculator, but a utilitarian. His 
genius was not subtle, but practical, and he had 
the wisdom to detect the character and the wants 
of his countrymen, and in the minute practical 
details of his admirable moral and political sys- 
tem he exactly met their wants. 

The very age of Confucius produced a phil- 
osopher of much more depth of thought, sub- 
tlety of genius, and comprehensiveness of system 
than the sage, and one, too, from whom Con- 
fucius borrowed his best ideas of immortality; 
and yet Laou-kiun failed to impress his character 
on the Chinese, and only gave them a subtle sys- 
tem of philosophy which has degenerated into 
superstition, while his more practical, but less 
profound, contemporary has stamped his lessons 
on all of Chinese life. His aphorisms and opin- 



A Great Benefactor. 273 

ions, his illustrations and subject matter, are 
peculiarly Chinese, drawn from Chinese sources, 
addressed to Chinese minds, and delivered in 
Chinese style. He has thrown a halo of sanc- 
tity around the antiquities of the Chinese empire ; 
he has described and lauded the ancient kings; 
he has illustrated and praised their ancient sages ; 
he has explained and perpetuated their ancient 
civilization ; he has given a firm basis to their 
government ; he has explained the nature and 
enforced the duties of the social and domestic 
relations, and taught them the art of living in 
obedience and peace. His lessons have given 
perpetuity to the empire of China by defining 
and enforcing the relations and duties of those in 
authority, and by illustrating and enjoining the 
interests of those in subjection. Both rulers 
and the ruled have seen in him a great bene- 
factor of the empire ; both recognize in him 
a friend and preceptor, and both unite in perpet- 
uating his fame and doing honor to his memory. 
Gratitude to a great practical man, and admi- 
ration for a great national benefactor, I believe, 
are the bonds which still enchain the Chinese 
heart to the name of Confucius. 

He is, undoubtedly, the providential man of 
China, and has been an immeasurable blessing to 
these millions of people. His reign, however, is 



274 China and Japan. 

enduring too long. China can advance no further 
until she breaks away from and passes on beyond 
Confucius. He has been a beneficent conserva- 
tive power during the past centuries, but he is 
utterly unable to carry his people beyond the 
semi-civilized state in which they have been liv- 
ing for twenty centuries. Something infinitely 
broader than Confucianism is needed to lift this 
great nation into the higher plane of civilization 
and enlightenment. That something is the di- 
vine philosophy and religion of Jesus the Christ. 
Confucius has been a light to China through the 
dark cenuturies ; the time has come when he 
must decrease, and "the sun of righteousness 
must arise, with healing in his wings." The 
mighty work to be done in China is to bury the 
dead Confucius and to raise up the living Christ. 




XX. 



JVloi\Vtefy of tl\e ©uTdMiii^ j^prii}^. 

|VERY visitor to the city of Foochow will 
be sure to make the trip to the monastery 
situated near the summit of Kushan Mount- 
ain. On Wednesday, the 1 6th of Jan- 
uary, with a very pleasant company of our 
missionaries, we made this trip. We took 
our mission house-boat, and by the help of wind 
and tide soon floated about six miles down the 
river, and turned into the mouth of a little creek. 
Here, under the shade of a banyan tree, we dis- 
embarked, and picked our way, on foot, along 
the narrow dividing lines between the fields 
of rice or paddy stubble, for two or three hun- 
dred yards, and were then taken up by our chairs 
and carried to the foot of the mountain. Here 
we reached an old temple, which looks much 
neglected, and, indeed, as if abandoned. It is 
surrounded by a high wall, and the broad boughs 
of the banyans almost hide it from view. After 

275 



276 China and Japan. 

resting here a little while, on the stone seats pre- 
pared for the traveler by the side of a stream of 
limpid water, which issues from a stone wall near 
the seat, and studying but not reading many stone 
tablets, with long inscriptions, in Chinese char- 
acters, we begin to ascend the mountain. We 
were all provided with chairs, each chair being 
carried by three coolies. 

The ascent of the mountain is by winding 
around the sides and into the valleys of the va- 
rious hills, on a broad paved road, and where 
the way is too steep for inclined ascent, stone 
steps are placed. The whole number of these 
stone steps, from the base until you reach the 
elevation on which stands the monastery, is 
about three thousand. In other parts of the 
ascent, where a gentle incline will meet the case, 
we have an inclined plane covered with large 
flags of stone. The road is, perhaps, ten feet 
wide, and is every-where either paved with these 
large flat stones, or arranged in regular steps. 

Two or three buildings are thrown across 
the roadway, providing resting places for the 
weary traveler. The gentlemen, and sometimes 
the ladies too, of our company, got out of 
the chairs and walked to have a view of the 
magnificent scenery, increasing in extent and 
grandeur, as we gained successive elevations 



Mountain Scenery. 277 

up the mountain side. I tried walking for a 
short distance, but found it exceedingly fatiguing 
to climb up the steep, stone stairways, and took 
my chair, greatly delighting my bearers with a 
remark in their own tongue, "Laou niung maia 
kiang, M "old man can not walk." With right 
good relish my bearers afterward carried me all 
the way up the hill, every now and then repeat- 
ing and merrily laughing over it, "old man can 
not walk." 

It is needless to attempt any description of 
the really magnificent scenery, which is presented 
at various points, while we ascend the mountain. 
At last we have reached the summit, not of the 
mountain, but of the shelf of the mountain, on 
which stands the monastery. We have now 
reached a well-flagged roadway, about twelve feet 
wide, bordered on each side by a low stone 
wall, partly overgrown with luxuriant evergreens. 
Along this way, for three or four hundred feet, 
we have huge camphor trees, with gnarled 
trunks and immense boughs. Stalwart pines 
send up their palm-like forms, graceful bamboos 
in silver lines, skirting along the course of a 
mountain stream, which leaps into the ravine 
below the southern wall. Before us towers up 
the high peak of Kushan, still a thousand feet 

above our present position, and three thousand 

18 



278 China and Japan 

feet above the level of the sea ; and now, as we 
turn a curve in the way, we catch the sound of 
the solemn tones of the bell of the monastery, 
and the first sight of the immense, tiled roofs 
of this "monastery of the bubbling spring. " 

It is needless to give the reader the traditional 
history of this great monastery, one of the most 
celebrated in China, as its history is but little 
reliable, as a matter of fact. By all traditions, 
however, its age is carried far back into anti- 
quity, one story claiming for it even an origin 
in the time of the "Three States," about A. D. 
200, and the lowest date fixed by any tradition 
placing its origin in the Sung dynasty, about 
A. D. 1200. Of course, the buildings which 
we now see have nothing like this great anti- 
quity, and are really of quite recent structure. 
The whole place is said to have been destroyed 
by fire and rebuilt several times. 

An area of about two acres is covered by the 
temple buildings proper. In the center, extend- 
ing from the front to the rear, are three large 
temples, with open courts, paved with stones be- 
tween them. Passing through the gate or arch- 
way we continue on a winding stone paved way, 
until we pass through another covered gateway, 
and then we are within the first court, fronting the 
first main temple. We have here a large court, 



The First Temple. 281 

some one hundred and fifty feet wide and about 
one hundred feet deep. On each side are build- 
ings for various purposes of the monastery, and 
immediately in front of you, on a raised terrace, 
which you reach by an inclined stoneway, stands 
the first temple. This structure is about one 
hundred and twenty feet wide and thirty feet 
deep. The space in the middle, fifty feet wide 
and thirty feet deep, is occupied by the idols. 
The rest of the building is divided into compart- 
ments for various uses. The temple is well built 
and of substantial materials, but after the usual 
Chinese fashion. 

There are in this building six statues of great 
dimensions. Facing you on entering is a great 
figure of Buddha, in a sitting posture, on a raised 
platform, about five feet from the floor. On 
each side of the entrance are placed two images, 
each, perhaps, ten feet in height. They stand 
facing each other, the space between them being 
the entrance to the temple. These four images 
represent the ministers of Buddha ; the first grasps 
a huge sword in his right hand, the other hand 
is raised as in warning, while his black, glow- 
ering eyes and fierce countenance are intended 
to be very terrible to the visitor. Beneath his 
great feet there crouches a black, dwarfish figure 
of horrible appearance. The second looks down 



282 China and Japan. 

on you with a merry face, and seems to be 
playing some unknown tune on his guitar. Be- 
neath his feet, also, is another dwarfish figure, 
writhing in agony. The third, on the other side, 
stands with an umbrella half raised. The last 
holds in his left hand a struggling serpent ; in 
his right he holds a ball, which is supposed to 
represent a precious jewel taken from the bowels 
of the serpent. Immediately in the rear of the 
image of Buddha, and separated from it only by 
a thin partition, is placed another idol, its back 
against the partition, and its face looking tow T ard 
the temples within. 

Passing through this building, we enter a 
broad, stone-paved, open court, along the sides 
of which to the right and left are arranged cov- 
ered galleries, and in the center of which is an 
artificial reservoir, spanned by a stone bridge. 
On the north side of the court we discover 
another elevated terrace, and on the top of this 
a second temple. This building is about one 
hundred feet wide and sixty feet deep. It is the 
most important building of the group, and is 
devoted to the worship of the Three Precious 
Buddhas, representing the past, present, and 
future incarnations of Buddha. Against a high, 
gilded screen, near the rear of the building, are 
placed three idols. They are set on carved 



The Second Temple. 283 

pedestals, representing the lotus -flower, about 
five feet in height. The countenances of these 
idols are mild and self-satisfied, and a kind of 
crown is placed on the head of each one. 

In front of the idols is a large altar, with 
beautiful vases filled with flowers, and censers 
with incense ever burning. Low stools, with 
mats, are arranged over the tiled floor, for the 
kneeling of the worshipers. Tassels and long 
bands of silk are suspended from the roof. On 
each side are ranged large figures, representing 
nine disciples, supposed to be the first priests 
of Buddhism in China. 

In this building the priests assemble morning 
and evening for worship — about four in the 
morning, and at the same hour in the evening. 
At four o'clock in the afternoon we witnessed 
their performance. More than a hundred priests, 
w r hen we first entered the building, were kneeling 
on the mats referred to. In a little while they 
began to move about, circling around in front 
of the altar, winding in and out among the 
stools and mats, repeating prayers of whose 
meaning not one in ten of the priests themselves 
have the slightest conception, sometimes kneel- 
ing, then standing, and then marching, single-file, 
around every row of stools in the temple. Their 
chanting is accompanied by the jingling of a 



284 China and Japan. 

small bell and the dull sound produced by strik- 
ing with a mallet on a queer -looking piece of 
hollow wood. The whole service seemed to us 
to be a perpetual repetition of the single word, 
"Omito." "Omito." 

Passing out of the left-hand door of this 
building we enter another inclosure, in which we 
find a large number of sacred animals, a cow, 
two or three pigs, some chickens, and some 
geese. These animals are never injured, but are 
supposed to be the creatures into which the 
souls of the priests enter when they die. 

The third temple is situated on a still higher 
terrace, about sixty feet behind the second. 
Here we have the many -handed "Goddess of 
Mercy," with about a dozen attendants, several 
of them also with many hands. Here we find, 
also, one image of porcelain, of a smaller size 
than the others, carefully preserved in a wooden 
case, and which, we were seriously told by the 
priest who accompanied us in our visitation, had 
been made in a very miraculous manner, by 
simply melting a great quantity of broken por- 
celain in a furnace, when, lo! this image was 
found complete in the furnace, in the midst of 
the flames. It is quite perfect in form, and cer- 
tainly must be miraculous in its character if this is 
a true account of its origin. In times of drought 



An Abbot's Miracle. 285 

or famine prayers are addressed to this image ; 
and sometimes it is carried along the public 
streets of Foochow, and worship is paid to it by 
all. Worship is performed in this temple only 
at certain times, or when any one wishes to pre- 
fer a petition, or when some public emergency 
arises. 

Besides these main buildings, there are a 
number of others located at different points. 
Some are smaller temples. One is devoted to a 
kitchen or refectory ; another fronts on a beauti- 
ful pond, which seems to be nearly full of sacred 
fish, so tame that when a little cracker is thrown 
on the water, scores of them, great, large, fat 
fellows, come leaping up, some of them clean 
out of water. Passing by this building, and 
winding around a spur of the hill, we come to a 
romantic dell, in which is a little joss-house, 
commemorating the wonderful miracle of stop- 
ping the fall of a mountain stream by the com- 
mand of a holy abbot, whose meditations were 
disturbed by the babbling water as it leaped 
over the rocks. Whether this miracle was actu- 
ally performed or not, the water has certainly 
been turned away from the rocky crevice through 
which it had evidently at one time had its course, 
and we found it around another little spur of the 
hill, in a romantic little nook, in which is built 




286 China and Japan. 

another picturesque little temple, in which is a 
bell, which is perpetually rung by a small water- 
wheel. 

Leaving this, and rising still farther to the 
east and south by a stone stairway, we come to 
an abrupt precipice, from which may be had a 
most magnificent view, reaching far down the 
river and clear out to sea, away over the entire 
valley in which Foochow is situated, to the 
Tiger Hills in the south, and to the " White 
Dogs," which seem to guard the entrance to 
the river, out in the ocean. From this splendid 
view, foreigners have named this point ' ' Buena 
Vista." 

As we take our way back we cross a deep 
ravine, down near the bottom of which we dis- 
cover the Hermit's Lodge, a stone building, 
almost hermetically sealed up, except a small 
hole in the wall. Whether it is occupied now 
or not I do not know, but years ago, when I 
visited it, there was closed up in this cell a man 
about thirty years of age, having only about 
room to sit on the floor, and receiving light only 
from the roof. He had been shut up in this cell 
for several years, and expected to remain one or 
two years longer. 

A little farther on we saw an arrangement for 
the cremation of the dead priests ; and not far from 




B0NZ1 S AT PRAYKR 



Buddha % s Tooth. 289 

this a cemetery, situated in a grove of pines, 
about three-quarters of a mile from the monas- 
tery, on the road leading to the city. There is 
here a stone platform, about forty feet square, 
raised about nine feet from the ground. Beneath 
this elevated square or terrace is the final recep- 
tacle for the jars containing the ashes of the de- 
ceased priests. To this gloomy vault an entrance 
is effected by removing part of the wall on the 
right side of the space. In the center you ob- 
serve a stone urn, capable of containing the 
ashes of perhaps thirty priests. When a priest 
dies the body is conveyed to the crematory, and 
is burned, and the ashes put into a jar, which, 
after being sealed, is placed in this large urn. 
Here the jars remain till the urn is full, when 
the vault below is opened and the contents of 
the large urn are placed within it. 

Here, in another place, is a large hall or 
building, in which are sacred relics. Among 
them is a tooth of Buddha, and a small string of 
pearls, said to have been found in the ashes of a 
cremated abbot. We were not able to sec these 
wonderful things until we had contributed liber- 
ally to the priest who had the care of them. 
Entering the building, we find, indeed, Buddha's 
tooth, laid away in a strong box, with iron bars 



290 China and Japan 

faithful alike might view the sacred relic. We 
saw also the string of pearls, but could not get 
near enough to them to see the wonderful things 
that are said to be beheld when looking closely 
into these pearls. I omitted to say that Buddha's 
tooth is about eight inches broad and about four 
inches deep, and would have made a very re- 
spectable tooth for a full-grown elephant. There 
is arranged along the sides of this building a 
library, containing a large collection of Bud- 
dhist books. 

At one place, near the entrance of the first 
great temple, was a large wooden fish, hollowed 
out, and beaten almost to pieces by a wooden 
billet which hung by its side. Whether the 
beating of this fish has any religious significance, 
or merely calls the priests together for service, 
I do not know. One of the things that impresses 
the visitor, and really throws an air of solemnity 
over the whole scene, is the tolling of the great 
bell, which goes on almost incessantly, with 
intervals of only thirty seconds between the 
strokes. On the large rocks, every -where, in- 
scriptions have been engraved in the Chinese 
characters, all having some significance, but most 
of them being in the old seal character, or writ- 
ten in such high classic style that none but the 
very best Chinese scholars can read them. 



Down the Mountain. 291 

As the shades of evening were closing around 
us we took our chairs and left this very interest- 
ing spot, full of reflections on the religion here 
represented, and which seems to satisfy the re- 
ligious needs of millions of people. 







XXL 




iVoni SWl^ow to ttoiigkoiig. 



|N the afternoon of Saturday, January 19, 

1878, we left Foochow, in company with 

some of the missionaries and the Misses 

Woolston, and went down the river to 

take the steamer for Hongkong. The 

Misses Woolston, after a service of nearly 

twenty years, were now leaving China for a tour 

of recuperation, and would sail from Hongkong 

to America by way of Europe. On Sunday 

morning the steamer Douglass, on which we 

found pleasant quarters, left the anchorage at 

Pagoda Island for Amoy. A beautiful sail down 

the river, through the enchanting scenery lining 

both sides of its course, of a few hours, brought 

us into the heavy rolls of the sea ; and I looked 

with a sad heart on these receding shores as I 

felt that, most probably, for the last time I was 

looking upon the scenery of Foochow. But so 

I thought when, just twenty-four years before, 
292 



Amoy. 293 

almost to a day, I left the same city, then on a 
sailing vessel, with the anticipation of a voyage 
of a hundred days before me to reach the city 
of New York. God knows better than man, 
and disposes all things well. 

At seven o'clock the next morning we arrived 
at Amoy, where we remained till five in the 
evening. We went ashore here and spent the 
day with Dr. Talmage, of New Jersey, an ac- 
quaintance of many years ago, a member of the 
American Reformed Mission, who has been at 
Amoy a little over thirty years. Amoy is in 
the same province of Fuhkien, and though less 
than one hundred and fifty miles in a straight 
line from the capital city, Foochow, yet differs 
so much in the dialect spoken that native people 
of Amoy are able to converse but very little 
with the people of Foochow. a Amoy" is an 
island, about ten miles by eight, and the city is 
supposed to contain about two hundred thousand 
inhabitants. The foreign residences are mostly 
on a smaller island, and very beautifully and 
healthfully situated, having a fine exposure to 
the sea breezes. 

We spent a delightful and busy day with Dr. 
Talmage, and visited all the missionaries, of 
whom there are eight families here. They have 
had good success in Amoy, their stations cx- 

J 9 



294 China and Japan. 

tending to the northward, nearly to meet the 
missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 
the Hing Hwa District, and to the south nearly to 
the northern borders of the missions of Swatow. 
Indeed, there is thus a nearly continuous line of 
missionary stations, from Peking to Canton, all 
along the Chinese coast. A touching sight we 
met here in one of our peregrinations, as we came 
upon some graves of foreign seamen, made one 
hundred and fifty years ago, about which scarcely 
any thing is known*, who the persons were or how 
they came to be here. 

The harbor of Amoy consists of a series of 
rugged, granitic islands. There is considerable 
trade carried on here ; and among other beauti- 
ful things that are here manufactured the most 
beautiful are the artificial flowers of paper, cele- 
brated throughout China, and really so perfect in 
their imitations of form and color that, standing 
on the side of our vessel, and looking over into 
the boats where men and women were offering 
them for sale, we really took them to be genuine 
flowers. The natives are enterprising, and they 
have spread themselves all along the coast of 
China, and have even migrated to many parts 
of the Eastern Archipelago. We wound our 
way through the narrow, filthy streets, closely 
lined on both sides with one -story buildings, 



A Lively Boy. 



295 




CHINESE BOY. 



mere wooden structures, destitute of beauty and 
comfort. We saw two or three wild and fantas- 
tical theatrical exhibitions in the open street as 
we passed along, the people seeming to be 
mightily amused at the strange and ludicrous 
pranks of the performers. To us the most in- 
teresting performances were the pranks of a 



296 China and Japan. 

Chinese boy, about ten years old, who was 
keeping two balls playing in the air, at the same 
time, by kicking them with his feet. In this 
way he could keep them both in the air for many 
minutes at a time. He seemed as full of sport 
as a kitten, but goes about his work in a sober, 
earnest, business-like way. We also visited two 
or three temples, and were most of all impressed 
by the wretched and dirty condition of the priests, 
they being here, as is the rule in other parts of 
China, of the worst class of men. 

In the afternoon we visited a very interesting 
spot near the city, called the White Stag Tem- 
ple. This is an old, abandoned Buddhist temple, 
situated on a rocky eminence, about two miles 
from the city. It is really one of the most wild 
and picturesque places I ever visited, being a 
large temple, consisting of many rooms, in differ- 
ent positions and at different elevations, some 
of them constructed of wood in ancient Chinese 
style, and now crumbling to ruin. Others were 
natural grottoes, formed by the huge rocks, in- 
clining in different directions. Some are artificial 
caverns, constructed with great labor in the solid 
rock itself. The entire design is wild and ro- 
mantic, and its embellishments are plants of 
many kinds, distributed in wild profusion about 
the place. Many picturesque spots are occupied 



SWATOW. 297 

by grotesque figures, illustrative of ancient Chi- 
nese sculpture. All the rooms are occupied by 
idols, some of them rather handsome, and some 
very frightful in their appearance, while all of 
them are rapidly falling to decay. 

We left Amoy in the evening, and early the 
next morning arrived at Swatow, quite a thriv- 
ing business place on an arm of the sea, ten 
miles back from the coast, and about midway 
between Amoy and Hongkong. As a mission 
station it is occupied by the American Baptists 
and English Presbyterians. The Baptists have 
three missionary families and three single ladies. 
Miss Fielde, of this mission, has become quite 
famous in China for her remarkable success in 
women's work. She has a thoroughly organized 
system for training and using Bible women. She 
has now twenty women in constant employ, 
whom she sends out, two by two, into the 
country places and villages. She herself often ac- 
companies them, visiting the whole work, through 
a territory eighty miles long and fifty broad, 
which is about the extent of the dialect used 
here. The English Presbyterian mission here 
has also three families. Swatow is celebrated 
for its excellent oranges, some of the loose- 
skinned, mandarin variety being four inches in 
diameter and very luscious to the taste. 



298 China and Japan 

On Wednesday, we arrived at Hongkong, and 
found pleasant quarters with Dr. Rogers, an 
American dentist, who has gained an enviable 
reputation in China. Hongkong is a large, 
mountainous island, fit for nothing but a depot 
of trade with China. It was ceded to Great 
Britain in 1844. The city on the island is 
officially known under the name of Victoria, but 
it has seldom received this title, except in official 
and literary documents, the old Chinese name 
of Hongkong being still applied to the whole 
island and city. Victoria is chiefly English, and 
extends three or four miles along the shore of a 
very fine harbor. It has many fine buildings, 
and is a very wealthy and busy place. There 
are two excellent hotels, several churches, two 
hospitals, schools, Catholic institutions, two fine 
club buildings, four banks with a heavy capital, 
and a large number of elegant dwelling-houses 
and large business hongs. 

The missionary force is not very large, as the 
field for Chinese work is not very extensive or 
promising. There are supposed to be a hundred 
thousand Chinese on this island, most of them con- 
centrated in Victoria, and mingling freely in trade 
and service with the foreign people. A large, 
controlling foreign presence of this kind is by no 
means an aid in genuine missionary work. Nor 



Hongkong. 299 

have the foreigners and traders in China, as a 
general thing, much sympathy with missionary 
effort. The Bassel Mission seems to be here in 
strongest force, extending their work on the 
main-land far to the north of Hongkong, and 
reaching out westward beyond Canton. The 
London Mission has done good service here, and 
has given to the work in China some of the 
ablest and most eminent scholars in Chinese 
matters. The Rhenish Mission is operating here, 
and is extending its work on the mainland to the 
north-west. The Church of England has also a 
mission, but it does not seem to be very vigor- 
ous, in its activity among the Chinese. Bishop 
Burdon, whose residence is here, is in charge 
of the missions of Southern China. The female 
native educational society is also doing some 
excellent work in the cause of missions. 

Victoria, altogether, is a very beautiful city, 
characterized by that uniqueness which belongs to 
these foreign, Oriental cities. The streets are 
remarkably clean and neatly finished. They are 
not dirtied nor cut up by horses and vehicles, as 
nearly every thing is carried on men's shoulders. 
There are a few horses and carriages, which drive 
out on the roads leading out of the city. Much 
money has been expended in making street-ways 
up the hills and along the mountain sides. 



300 China and Japan. 

Every thing here is under strict police and military 
surveillance, and, in spite of my strong Amer- 
icanism, I can not help feeling that a little more 
of that kind of thing is specially needed in 
America. " Kennedy Road" is a beautiful, 
winding way along the mountain side, from 
which are many magnificent views of the harbor. 
"Victoria Peak" is about a thousand feet high. 
"Happy Valley," a very picturesque ravine, is 
devoted to cemeteries and the inevitable English 
race-course. There are four cemeteries in suc- 
cession in this valley, Roman Catholic, Protest- 
ant, Mohammedan, and Parsee. They are all 
very neat and beautiful, and show the strange 
mixture of life in this busy city, and how the 
various races come at last to sleep quietly, with- 
out prejudice, close by each other, when life's 
fitful dream is o'er. The Parsees, who are de- 
scendants of the Persians, and who are still 
nature-worshipers, bury above ground, and their 
cemetery is so full of plants, and in such variety, 
that it is a valuable and beautiful botanical 
garden. 

The Chinese of Hongkong are very enter- 
prising, and here, as well as at Canton and 
Shanghai, they are gradually taking much of the 
trade out of the hands of the foreigners. They 
can do it so much more cheaply, that it is a se- 



The Coming Chinaman. 301 

rious question whether, before many years, they 
will not make it unprofitable for foreigners to do 
business in China. The natives have this notion 
themselves, and are working toward it. They 
have bought up a large number of steamers, 
and the government itself is making a large num- 
ber of steam war vessels. Charles of Sweden is 
fast teaching Peter of Russia to take care of him- 
self! The Chinese are rapidly learning the same 
lesson. 




xxn. 



, *4b . 



Ckqton. 




poa, 



PLEASANT sail by steamer of eight 
hours carries us from Hongkong to Can- 
ton, the Paris of China. We approach 
this great city through the Bocca Tigris, 
and up the Pearl, or Canton River. The 
anchorage for foreign shipping is at Wham- 
a reach in the river, twelve miles below 
Canton, above which vessels drawing much depth 
of water can not go. In former years, great 
numbers of foreign ships were found at this 
anchorage, and a large business in foreign trade 
was conducted here, but as Victoria has grown 
in magnitude and importance, Canton has dimin- 
ished in relation to foreign trade. The town of 
Whampoa lies on an island north of the anchor- 
age. The prospect from the hills beyond the 
town is very beautiful. Opposite to Whampoa 
is Dane's Island, which is a small, rocky hill, 
where, in former times, seamen who died in the 
302 






Boat Life on the River. 303 

port were buried. West of this is also another 
island, on which are the tombs of many foreign- 
ers, former residents of Canton. Large herds 
of cattle used to be raised on these and other 
islands for supplying the shipping with beef, but 
the Chinese themselves do not use it. 

The appearance of the river from Whampoa 
up to Canton is very beautiful. On the heights, 
which are frequently surmounted by pagodas and 
places of worship, cultivation is carried to the 
very summits by means of that peculiarly beau- 
tiful Chinese characteristic, terraces, forming tier 
above tier up the hill-sides, while the fantastically 
built cottages of the natives dot the earth, and 
the peculiar water-wheels, which are used for 
pumping up water from the river to these various 
tiers of terraces are striking and picturesque. 

Above the anchorage we again come in con- 
tact with another characteristic of Chinese life. 
On these waters dwell thousands of families in 
boats, which might rather be called floating 
houses, for the poor people who inhabit them 
have no other home. The river population of 
Canton is estimated at two hundred thousand. 
The men go on shore in the day and work in the 
fields, or take any employment they can find. 
The women earn a little money by carrying pas- 
sengers in their boats, which they manage with 



304 



China and Japan 



great skill. The children of these water people are 
very early taught to swim, and about the necks of 

iiffiii 




III .; 



quite young children they tie calabashes, which 
will keep them floating if they fall overboard. 



River Scenes. 305 

Advancing farther up the river the scene is 
richly diversified. Here and there may be seen 
a threatening looking fort, telling of the great 
improvement the Chinese have made in the art 
of fortification within the past twenty-five years. 
Here a tall pagoda rears its graceful form in the 
distance. There the orange groves, banyans, 
and lichi trees fill the air with fragrance. Man- 
darin or palace boats, having ten or twenty oars, 
increase in number and add to the picturesque 
effect. Various small boats or sampans now 
meet us, rushing to and fro, filled with the 
delicious fruits of Southern China, the own- 
ers endeavoring to induce passers-by to pur- 
chase their refreshing stores. Now we reach the 
clumsy, ponderous Chinese junks, of the same 
unique form, but gradually reduced in number 
from what we found there years ago. On the 
prow of these vessels we still see painted an 
enormous eye, round as a bull's, the use of 
which, if you ask a Chinaman, he will tell you 
in his pigeon English, "No have eye, how can 
see?" As we approach the city the river, which 
is nearly half a mile in width, becomes so 
crowded with boats of all sizes and classes, 
crossing and recrossing each other's track, that 
you really wonder how we arc to get through 
them and make a landing". 



306 China and Japan. 

On each side of the river you find a large 
number of boats of considerable size moored to 
the shore, in which whole families are living. 
Some of these dwellings are very handsomely 
carved and gayly painted. On the decks or flat 
roofs of some of them are constructed gardens, 
where they sit and smoke amid flowering shrubs, 
planted in painted porcelain flower-pots. You 
soon discover also other boats fitted up in very 
elegant style, which serve as caffs, where Chi- 
nese gentlemen spend their evenings. And still 
another kind is soon seen, the most gayly deco- 
rated of all, which have carved fronts, gayly 
painted, silken lanterns suspended from their 
roofs, with looking-glasses, pictures, and verses of 
an amatory character, inscribed on colored paper, 
hanging on their sides. These are called the 
" Flower Boats/ ' and are sinks of iniquity. The 
wretched female inmates, bedizened in tawdry 
finery, some of them tottering on their little de- 
formed feet, appear at the door or on the decks, 
beckoning the passer-by, trying to entice him by 
their allurements to enter. Many of these de- 
graded females are, at an early age, purchased 
from their parents, for prices varying from five to 
fifty dollars, and are retained in bondage until 
worn out by disease and profligacy. They are 
then turned adrift by their vile owners, with 



English Service. 307 

scarcely sufficient covering for their bodies, to 
protect them from the weather, or answer the 
purposes of common decency. The career of 
vice is usually commenced at ten years of age, 
and they seldom live beyond twenty-five years. 
But we were exceedingly glad to see that this 
unabashed profligacy and shame was very much 
restrained from the bold, daring, and impudent 
character which the whole thing presented a 
score of years ago. 

But we have now reached the city and have 
found a pleasant home with our old friend, Dr. 
Happer, of the American Presbyterian Mission, 
who has been laboring here for more than thirty 
years. On Sunday morning we attended the Eng- 
lish service, ' ' performed " in "the church " by 
Archdeacon Gray, a venerable and excellent man, 
who read the service impressively and preached 
a faithful sermon, if it had only been in good 
square English. What an abominable patois 
these full-blooded English make of the English 
language ! There were many sentences which I 
could not catch from the wretched brogue in 
which they were uttered. If it were not evi- 
dently natural, it would be disgustingly affected. 
But, in spite of it, the archdeacon was sincere, 
earnest, and impressive, and preached a good 
Gospel sermon. 






308 China and Japan. 

In the evening I preached to about thirty, 
mainly missionaries, at the house of Mr. Henry, 
a member of the American Presbyterian Mission. 

On Monday morning, under the guidance of 
Dr. Happer's son, I took a long tour through 
the city, and over about one-third of the city 
wall. From the north tower we had a fine 
bird's-eye view of the city and the surrounding 
country. This is the largest city I have yet 
seen in China, and thickly fills up the area 
within a circuit of more than six miles of wall. 
The houses are mainly of bluish-colored bricks, 
much better in appearance than the houses of 
Northern China. Many of them are two stories 
high. The streets are much cleaner, but no 
wider. There are some very pleasant -looking 
stores, and the whole place is lively with busi- 
ness. Some of the natives are large traders. 
They are all busy now with the demands of the 
approaching Chinese New Year. The foreign 
residents, except the missionaries, reside on an 
island, in the midst of the population outside of 
the walls, yet entirely separated from the natives 
by a canal which flows around the island. It is 
called the "Shameen," and is very beautifully 
fitted up, and has some fine dwellings and official 
buildings. It is like an oasis of civilization in a 
desert of barbarism. 






Stxee t Sights. 3 1 1 

As there is no other part of the world so 
thickly peopled as China, so there is no other 
part of China so densely packed with people as 
Canton. The streets and thoroughfares are very 
narrow, in many places so narrow that the peo- 
ple get into a perfect lock in trying to pass 
through. There are no wheel - carriages any- 
where in the southern part of China, so that in 
passing through these narrow streets you must 
either walk or be carried on men's shoulders in 
a sedan. You try it on foot, and you are con- 
stantly jostled and pushed aside by the sedan- 
bearers of the mandarins or wealthy merchants. 
Then come the coolies or porters with their bur- 
dens, knocking you against a dwelling or into a 
shop ; but you are willing to take these thumps 
and knocks for the sake of seeing and hearing 
the sights and sounds of the crowded Chinese 
street. Your ears are greeted with the cries of 
the live stock which are carried about in bamboo 
cages and exposed for sale in the narrow streets, 
puppy dogs yelping, kittens mewing, fowls cack- 
ling, ducks quacking, and pigs grunting, while 
above them all are the cries of those who have 
them for sale. Live fish, wriggling earth-worms, 
squirming slugs and grubs, sharks' fins, and other 
creature comforts, meet your eyes on every side. 
Barbers, carrying their whole shop, are busy 



3 1 2 China and Japan 

shaving the faces or heads of their customers. 
Itinerant tinkers block up the street, and are 
ingeniously mending broken porcelain by most 
delicately riveting the fragments together. Hard 
by is a vender of cooked food, with an enormous 
reed umbrella firmly fixed in the ground. Be- 
side him is another who sells " samshoo" a mis- 
erable species of whisky, made of rice, bad to 
the smell and awful to the taste, with sweet- 
meats and cakes. A little farther on is an itin- 
erant bookseller; and near him is a skillful for- 
eign tailor; and not far off is a doctor, with a 
string of human teeth around his neck ; and 
mingling with all these are lepers and horrible 
beggars, covered with disease, and clothed in 
rags. In short, perhaps the busiest, noisiest, 
and dirtiest of all the streets in the world are 
those found in Chinese cities. 

The shops on these streets present a mass of 
carved wood -work, gaudily painted, with mag- 
nificent paper lanterns of all sizes and descrip- 
tions suspended from the roof. The signs are 
red boards, hung perpendicularly, and covered 
on both sides with golden characters arranged in 
columns. The houses, built on each side, are 
most of them only one story high, but we found 
here much more than the usual proportion of 
houses reaching a greater height. The roofs are 






Streets of Canton. 313 

sloped, with ornamental eaves. The shops being 
entirely open in front, the whole merchandise is 
exposed to view, and presents a very showy and 
attractive appearance. The interior of the shop 
is neatly fitted up, and the goods are tastefully 
displayed. The Chinese are the Yankees of the 
East, and are great traders. Every house on 
the street is a shop or store of some kind ; and, 
in addition the streets are full of peddlers of all 
descriptions, and the rich and the grandees pur- 
chase most of their articles from the peddlers, 
who visit them at their homes. In our country 
such peddlers carry only inferior articles, and no 
lady of position purchases them ; but in China 
the reverse is the case, and real ladies rarely, if 
ever, go to the stores. Each trade in Canton is 
carried on in a particular street or quarter. Car- 
penters are met with here, tailors there, shoe- 
makers in another locality, and in the same 
manner through all the trades. 

Canton is more widely known to foreigners 
than any other city in China. It is surrounded, 
as we have said, with a wall more than six miles 
in extent, and within these walls are built what 
are called the "old" and the "new" cities. A 
wall also extends from east to west, and divides 
the two cities. In the first is contained the 
official and Tartar population, while in the other 



314 China and Japan 

is found a mixed multitude, gathered from nearly 
all the provinces of China. The reason why so 
many people can be found in so small a territory 
is because the streets are very narrow, the houses 
are very small, and the people live m a very 
crow T ded manner. Outside of these walls there 
are almost as many people as within them, and, 
feeling that they have more room, they scatter 
more, so that the suburbs of Canton are very 
extensive, and spread over more space than the 
city itself, and, including the thousands who live 
on the boats, quite as many people live outside 
the walls as within them. The entire population 
of the city and its suburbs is estimated at more 
than a million. 

The city is dotted all over with temples and 
pagodas, and contains some very fine residences 
belonging to the mandarins and high officers. 
They often have gardens attached to them, 
which are sometimes laid out very tastefully, 
having curious specimens of dwarfed plants in 
all kinds of shapes, some of them looking very 
odd by seeming to be so very old, and yet so 
very small. Some of these Chinese merchants 
have become quite wealthy, and have retired to 
live in considerable style ; yet even in their 
greatest attempts at style there is much that is 
ludicrous to an American. In the midst of a 




A STREET IN c 



Temple of Five Hundred Gods. 317 

showy kind of finery you still see the inevitable 
dirt. Gilded furniture and beautiful porcelain 
ware and gay and rich dresses can not take 
away the ridiculousness of the pomposity and 
air of conceit that always characterizes a rich 
Chinaman. 

Among other places of special interest which 
we were permitted to visit was, first, the Bud- 
dhist temple of "the five hundred gods." As 
a temple it is about like all the rest, but it con- 
tains five hundred images of sainted or deified 
disciples of Buddha, arranged on platforms all 
around the temple. They are life-size, and sit 
on their folded legs, most of them exhibiting the 
wonderful feat for which the subject has been 
sainted. The eyes of one are perpetually turned 
to heaven, and are supposed never to have 
winked. Another holds his hand erect till it has 
become immovable. Another has held his hand 
out so steadily and softly that a bird has come 
and built its nest in it. Another became so holy 
that Buddha opened his breast and entered into 
his heart. And thus each one seems to have 
been distinguished by some great act of religious 
devotion. They are of clay, painted and gilded. 

We next visited the Buddhist Temple of 
Horrors, the chief feature of which is ten cells, 
in which are exhibited the various pains of the 



318 China and Japan. 

Buddhist hell, or purgatory. The actual scenes 
are exhibited in clay figures about two-thirds life- 
size. The first cell, about ten feet square, which 
is about the measurement of each of them, is the 
hall of judgment, where the poor wretches are 
tried. Then came one chamber where a man is 
receiving from the demons a terrible whipping, 
being stretched on the ground face downward, 
by two men, while the third is beating him with 
a large paddle. The next cell exhibits a crimi- 
nal fastened in a frame, head downward, and 
being sawn in two lengthwise. In the next, 
another is suffering the tortures of slow burning, 
another is supposed to be sitting under a red-hot 
bell. In the next they are in cages, and some 
chained with the Chinese cangue ; in another 
»they are being beheaded ; and in another they 
are ground in a mill and pounded in a mortar. 
In the next, they are boiling a poor fellow in 
oil, and in the last some poor wretches, for hav- 
ing been guilty of eating beef, are being them- 
selves slowly transformed into oxen. Several 
figures in this cell present the various steps 
of this transformation. In all these cells nu- 
merous figures of demons are looking on with 
expressions of diabolical satisfaction, and strange 
to say, around the sides of each of the cells are 
ranged in scenic manner, mountain and hill-side 



Catholic Cathedral. 319 

retreats, on which are seen smaller figures of the 
good and saved, seeming to take an equal delight 
in witnessing the pains of the unhappy ones who 
have missed of paradise. Notwithstanding all 
these horrors booths are rented out before all 
these cells, and a lively traffic is carried on, and 
the priests themselves drive a large trade in 
selling paper fans, sacrificial money, etc., which 
are to be burned for the use of these suffering 
wretches. 

This is not an inapt place to speak of the Ro- 
man Catholic cathedral, or rather of the one that 
is in process of erection, and has been for the 
last fifteen years. It is an immense pile of 
granite, of which nothing is up yet except the 
walls and pillars. When finished, if it ever shall 
be, it will be one of the famous cathedrals of the 
world, but it will not be a glory but a shame to 
Catholicism. The Romanists are carrying on a 
gross wrong in this country. They secured a 
clause in the French treaty by which property 
which they held two centuries ago, when the 
Jesuits were driven from the country, was to be 
restored to them. There is no doubt but that in 
demanding of China the fulfillment of this article, 
they are making false claims and inflicting great 
wrongs on the Chinese. They demand property 
which they never owned, and in other places, 



320 China and Japan 

where it is impossible to restore to them the bit 
of ground they may have held two centuries ago, 
they make an exorbitant demand for other prop- 
erty. This is the case with the large ground on 
which this cathedral is being erected. It was 
formerly the yamun of the governor-general of 
the province, and had to be given to these insa- 
tiable wolves as indemnity, perhaps for a few 
miserable chapels which they held formerly in 
different parts of the city. These Catholics all 
over the empire are doing infinite harm to the 
cause of missions in this and a great variety 
of ways. Their unjust and wrong proceedings 
are imputed to the religion and the missionary 
work of foreigners in the country, and minister 
largely to the fear of the Chinese that the great 
object of foreign missionaries and all other for- 
eigners is to gain possession of their country and 
government. 

Canton is the oldest and, even to this day, the 
most difficult center of missionary operations in 
China. Around it has broken the history of 
nearly all foreign intercourse. Here have been 
developed the greatest prejudices against the for- 
eigner. Here the greatest wrongs have been per- 
petrated against the Chinese, and here the worst 
examples of Christian civilization have been 
set before the natives. Several times the surg- 



Prejudice at Canton. 321 

ings of war and battle have, swept over the 
city, and we can perceive even at the present 
day that the Chinaman here looks with a jeal- 
ous, suspicious, and unfriendly eye upon the 
foreigner. To a very great extent, the Can- 
tonese still seem to tolerate the presence of the 
outsider, and only accept the situation which a 
greater power forces upon them. At the begin- 
ning of this century Protestant missionaries tried 
to gain a location at Canton; but, although 
several successive attempts were made by emi- 
nent men from Europe and America, they never 
really succeeded in getting a secure location in 
or even near Canton. They were frequently 
repelled from the city, and some of them found a 
resting-place at Macao, a Portuguese concession, 
about eighty miles away from Canton. Others 
were compelled entirely to leave the country and 
content themselves with working among the Chi- 
nese who had migrated to some of the islands 
of the Indian Archipelago. Neither at Macao 
nor among the Chinese elsewhere were these 
pioneer missionaries able to accomplish much 
more than to gain some knowledge of the Chi- 
nese language, make some books, which were 
subsequently of a little service in the missionary 
work, and to translate some portions of the Bible. 
This state of things continued until the break- 



322 China and Japan. 

ing out of the "Opium War" in 1836, which for 
nearly eight years disturbed the whole country 
and suspended missionary operations. After the 
treaties of 1842-4, the missionary societies again 
determined to make a stronger effort in this 
metropolitan city of China, and in a very short 
time representatives from the American Board, 
the London Mission, and the American Pres- 
byterian and American Baptist Missions were 
knocking at the gates of this great city, and 
under treaty rights now hold their position. To 
the help of these great societies others have 
since come. The Wesleyans of England have a 
strong mission here. The Rhenish Mission is 
operating in Canton, and extending their out- 
posts to a very considerable distance in the 
country. The Bassel Mission is also operating 
and extending in the regions round about Can- 
ton. The Rhenish missionaries have out- stations 
at the very northern border of this Kwangtung 
province, two hundred miles away from Canton. 
Here we met our old friend, Rev. George 
Piercy, of the Wesleyan Mission, whom we met 
at Hongkong twenty-seven years before, a young, 
enthusiastic Methodist, who found no encour- 
agement among his own people in England in 
his purpose to become a missionary to China, 
and had then just arrived from London, coming 




,r T>-"^T.;^ 



Wesley an Mission. 325 

out alone and at his own expense. We remem- 
bered with delight the enthusiasm, hopefulness, 
and zeal of this young man, as we saw him be- 
ginning his work among the Chinese at Hong- 
kong, and now were especially delighted to find 
him at Canton, the recognized father of the Wes- 
leyan Missions in China and at the head of an ex- 
tensive and flourishing mission work in the city 
and ' extending out into the country ; and that 
from this central mission a branch had gone 
forth and opened another mission in Central 
China at Hankow, on the Yang-tsze-kiang. His 
heroic example soon won the favor of the Wes- 
leyan Missionary Society, and they adopted him 
and his work, and the Lord has blessed their 
labors and has given them success among the 
Chinese. At Canton they have five families and 
three single ladies, and about one hundred and 
fifty members. They have out-stations one hun- 
dred miles in one direction and eighty in another. 
They have two ordained native preachers, and 
their schools are very flourishing. 

The oldest of their native preachers was in 
very infirm health when I was there. We vis- 
ited him. He had been laid prostrate by severe 
suffering several times during the year. At one 
time there seemed to be no hope for him, and 

he himself thought that he was Hearing his end, 

21 



326 China and Japan. 

but his feet were on the rock and his eye upon 
the crown. Through Mr. Piercy, we held some 
conversation with him, and though he was con- 
vinced that his days were but few, there was no 
fear, no faltering, but a joyful anticipation of a 
glorious salvation when it should please God to 
call him away. It was a bright and beautiful 
testimony to the depth and genuineness of his 
conversion, and to the peaceful and hopeful state 
of mind before God and in view of death. 

The Presbyterian Mission, under the leader- 
ship of our old friend, Dr. Happer, whom we 
also met at Canton twenty-seven years before, 
has had as much success as we could expect, 
under all the great difficulties and prejudices 
which exist at Canton. This mission has about 
the same number of missionaries and out-stations, 
and in all about three hundred members. Dr. 
Carrow is doing an excellent medical and hospital 
work. The several young ladies of the missions 
are doing valuable work in the schools and in 
visitation among the native women. The mis- 
sionaries are all hopeful that a brighter and more 
successful future lies immediately before them. 
They are beginning to work out into the coun- 
try regions, and as they get farther away from 
the city and its influences are finding greater 



Adieu to China. 327 

acceptance on the part of the people, and greater 
success in the conversion of souls. 

A very hard and impracticable class, which it 
seems as if no missionary effort can reach, are 
the boat people of Canton. They seem to a 
very great extent to be separated from the 
dwellers on the land, and are almost a different 
class of people. Very little intermarrying is 
done between them and the landsmen, and they 
are a very hard class to reach in any way. But 
very little missionary work is done among these 
people anywhere in China, and yet they form a 
vast part of the great empire; 

On the 30th of June we bade farewell to 
Canton, and therefore to China proper, and re- 
turned to Hongkong. 




XXIII. 



jVoir\ dl|ink to Jkcpkq. 



|N the 1st of February we set sail on the 
fine steamer Oceanic, of the Oriental and 
Occidental Line, and after a splendid run 
of five days and eighteen hours we reached 
the city of Yokohama. On the morning 
of the 7th, at daybreak, I caught sight 
of the six small mountainous islands which look 
like outposts of the Gulf of Yedo. The sun 
soon rose on the horizon, and presented through 
the sea -fog the appearance of a crimson globe, 
and looked for all the world like nature's great 
symbol of the national arms of Japan ; or per- 
haps because of the frequency of this gorgeous 
sunrise the Japanese have adopted this view of a 
crimson globe depicted on a white ground as the 
armorial representation of their country, whose 
proper name declares it to be "the Land of the 
Rising Sun." Its first rays light up the point 
of Cape Idsu, on the main -land of Nipon, the 
328 



Gulf of Yedo. 331 

great island from which we get the name of 
Japan, by the way of China, the two characters 
representing it being read by the Chinese as 
Jipon, which we corrupt into Japan. This large 
island is now called Hondo. 

As we rounded this cape we beheld on the 
north-east the smoke ascending from the crater 
of the island of Ohosima. The town of Simoda, 
at the extremity of a little bay in the promon- 
tory of Idsu, is the first but least important of 
the cities of commerce which is met in ascend- 
ing the Gulf of Yedo. Here the Americans first 
obtained permission from the government to form 
a settlement in 1854. Subsequently the road- 
stead was destroyed by an earthquake, and this 
town was not included in the treaty of 1858. 
Along the coast we saw a number of fishing- 
boats and many larger native crafts, indicating 
the busy native trade along the coast of the main 
island and the multitude of surrounding smaller 
ones. It is an animated picture as w T e round the 
cape and enter the bay. The sun is now clearly 
up, and the sky is of a dazzling azure ; and the 
sea, no longer of that dark blue color which 
indicates great depth of water, is of a green 
shade, and so limpid that we can see to its 
depths, which is a characteristic of the waters 
along this rocky coast of Japan. 



33 2 China and Japan 

As soon as we .turn the cape we catch sight 
again of that grandest of all objects in Japan, 
glorious Fujiyama ; and now we see the culti- 
vated fields and villages scattered all along the 
coast. We double Cape Sagami, and enter the 
narrow channel called the Uraga Canal. Uraga 
is a town which Commodore Perry visited with 
his squadron in 1853. Our envoy pursued a 
very judicious and patient method in obtaining 
the great object of intercourse with Japan. The 
commodore demanded nothing and threatened 
nothing, but simply requested a brief interview 
with certain representatives of the government. 
To these delegates he cautiously and courteously 
explained the object of his mission, and then 
gave them, as he thought, and as all thought, a 
letter to the emperor, with which the President 
of the United States had intrusted him, inform- 
ing them at the same time that he would return 
for an answer in the following year. This letter, 
of course, never reached the real emperor, or 
Mikado, the seat of whose government was at 
Kioto, in the center of Japan, but was consid- 
ered by the Shogun, whose real position was 
that of commander-in-chief of the armies of 
Japan, but whose position de facto, for two hun- 
dred and fifty years, had been ruler of Japan. 

On the commodore's second visit, in 1854, 



Bay of Ye do. 333 

he found it necessary to resist the attempts of 
the governor of Uraga to detain him before 
that port, and pressed on with his squadron 
toward Yedo, the Shogun's capital ; but still 
acting prudently, and not wishing to offend the 
national feelings, he cast anchor eight miles 
south of the capital. Six weeks later, on the 
31st of March, 1854, he signed the treaty of 
Kanagawa, which inaugurated new relations be- 
tween Japan and the western world. 

The recollection of this important and suc- 
cessful mission is preserved in the names of the 
various places which we pass in ascending the 
bay. Above Uraga is Susquehanna Bay. Op- 
posite, on the eastern coast, is Cape Saratoga, 
named from the flag-ship of the fleet ; and higher 
up, on the eastern side, is Mississippi Bay. 
These three names are the names of the prin- 
cipal vessels which formed the squadron. Perry 
and Webster Islands, on the west coast, perpet- 
uate the fame of the Commodore of the expe- 
dition and of the celebrated Secretary of State 
who was the originator of the great movement. 
The Bay of Yedo extends to the north-east and 
south-west for about thirty miles in length, and 
terminates in a great semicircle twenty-two miles 
in diameter from east to west, on the eastern side 
of which is situated the immense capital of Japan. 



334 China and Japan 

At last we double Treaty Point, a picturesque 
promontory, where the treaty was signed be- 
tween Commodore Perry and the Shogun, now 
acting under the assumed title of Tycoon, or 
great king; and then the town of Yokohama, 
extending along a flat, marshy shore, but now 
well w r alled in and inclosed on the south and 
west by wooded hills, bursts suddenly on our 
sight. Ships of war, merchant vessels of various 
kinds, steamers of as great tonnage as any that 
float in the world, are riding in the harbor. 
Multitudes of native junks are anchored at a 
little distance from the pier head and custom- 
house stores. 

We steam slowly past the low Japanese city, 
the houses in which, with the exception of some 
warehouses, are low and of wood, consisting of 
only one story above the ground-floor ; and now 
we drop our anchor, the ship swinging upon it, 
head on, towards glorious Fujiyama, as if this 
great mountain sentinel were every-where pres- 
ent, either to threaten or to invite the visitor. 
It is still sixty miles away, and is completely 
isolated, with the exception of a chain of hills 
at its base. It is almost impossible to describe 
the effect of this enormous, solitary pyramid, 
now at this season covered with snow from sum- 
mit to base. It gives an air of great solemnity 



Hakodate. 337 

to the landscape of the whole Bay of Yedo. In 
a few moments we were welcomed by our mis- 
sionaries of Yokohama, Dr. Maclay and Mrs. 
Correll. 

Instead of calling together our missionaries 
from their several stations in Japan, I judged it 
best to visit them at their homes, and see the 
work in the different fields. We reached Yoko- 
hama from China on Thursday, February 7th, 
and Dr. Maclay, the superintendent of our mis- 
sions in Japan, anticipating our desire in the 
matter, had all things ready for a trip to Hako- 
date. Accordingly, on Friday, the 8th, Dr. 
Maclay and myself embarked on a neat little 
steamer of the Mitsu Bishi Line for Northern 
Japan, and on Monday evening we came to an- 
chor in the harbor of Hakodate. It was a 
pleasant sail of five hundred and seventeen miles 
along the rugged coast, the weather gradually 
growing colder, and the bare and bleak rocks 
covering themselves with snow, till we rounded 
the extremity of the main island of Japan, and 
sailed to the westward along the southern coast 
of the great northern island of Yezo. Here we 
found genuine Winter. Cold, north-westerly 
winds, constant squalls of snow, and the ground 
every-where covered with from two to three feet; 
altogether it was a sudden transition from the 



3 38 China and Japan. 

almost Summer weather of Hongkong to the 
three feet of snow covering every thing at 
Hakodate ; but we found warm and hospitable 
entertainment with Mr. M. C. Harris, our mis- 
sionary stationed here. We found here, also, 
W. C. Davisson and wife, who arrived in No- 
vember, and in a few days were going over to 
Hirosaki. Mrs. Harris was in America. We 
found a city of about thirty thousand inhabit- 
ants, stretching around the head of a land-locked 
harbor. Behind the city and all around the bay 
rise mountain peaks, one of them thirteen hun- 
dred feet high, and off in the distance another, 
sending out volumes of smoke. 

Hakodate is the chief city of the island of 
Yezo, a large island, to which the Ainos, the 
aborigines of Japan, have been finally driven, 
and where*, like our American Indians, a few 
thousands of them still live as uncivilized barba- 
rians. Many Japanese, however, are now on the 
island, and the government is greatly encourag- 
ing immigration, and at large expense is devel- 
oping the resources of the "province." The 
city is on the southern point of the island, on 
the straits which separate Yezo and Nipon. It 
has not yet yielded much return to foreign trade, 
and there are but few foreigners there. It is 
well located, however, for future missionary 



Missions. 339 

operations, commanding Southern Yezo and 
Northern Nipon. Our mission, consisting of 
only Mr. Harris and wife, the Church of Eng- 
land Mission, the missions of the Greek Church 
and those of the Catholic Church, make up 
the missionary force. We have there now thir- 
teen members and five probationers, one native 
preacher, and two student helpers. 

South of this, sixty miles across the strait, 
and twenty-four miles inland, is Hirosaki, where 
Mr. Ing has had remarkable success, through 
the agency of an ex-daimio school. A hundred 
miles north-west is Sapporo, where is the gov- 
ernment Agricultural school, and where we have 
met with most encouraging success among the 
students. The Greek Church has been here 
about fifteen years, and has about five hundred 
converts on the whole island. The French Cath- 
olics have been operating in the island about ten 
years, , and have about two hundred converts. 
The Church of England entered Hakodate about 
the same time we did, but has not yet had very 
much success. They have baptized seven. Alto- 
gether, at Hakodate, Hirosaki, and Sapporo, we 
have about one hundred baptized members. This 
I look upon as most encouraging success for a 
mission of so brief a history. 

We greatly need here a good school. A 



340 China and Japan 

score of young men have been lost to us from 
this want; and still more urgent and promising 
is the opening for a girls' school, and for work 
among the women. We are glad to note that 
the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society has 
recognized this pressing need, and has sent for- 
ward a young lady to enter this field. The 
Greek Church Mission has good schools, and 
sixty or seventy young people in their primary 
school. Some young men among them are 
studying for the ministry. The Catholics are 
also busy in this direction, having a girls' school 
and a boys' school. Re -enforcements for all 
departments are greatly needed for Hakodate. 

On Sunday, the 17th, we held a field day in 
the city. The day opened clear, bright, and 
warm for this latitude. The exercises consisted 
first of a baptismal service at half- past nine A. 
M. I addressed the candidates in English, and 
Mr. Harris translated into Japanese. Then he 
read the baptismal service in Japanese, and I 
performed the baptism of four adult males. 
After this, at eleven, I preached in English to 
about a dozen foreign persons and about thirty 
Japanese, many of whom understood much that 
was said. At three P. M. Dr. Maclay preached, 
and the new chapel was dedicated, all the service 
being in Japanese except the dedicatory prayer. 









i 



■ill!!!;'™ 



III III 



i IRNPll 



11111 im 



■■■ 




ATNOS, ABORIGINES OF JAPAN. 



Missionary Sunday. 343 

A number of foreigners were present, and fifty- 
four Japanese. The chapel is a very neat little 
building, excellently located on one of the more 
quiet and retired streets. It is built in foreign 
style. In the evening Mr. Honda, a native of 
Hirosaki, preached, and afterward was ordained 
deacon, having been elected previously thereto 
by the Newark Conference. He is a most ex- 
cellent man, sweet spirited, pure in his history 
and character, and scholarly, and has been bap- 
tized about six years. He is our leading man at 
Hirosaki, and is director of the daimio school in 
which Mr. Ing has been teaching, and to which 
Mr. M. C. Davisson now goes, and from which 
forty young men and women have been bap- 
tized and brought into the Church. I think the 
Church may hope much from this first ordained 
Japanese preacher of our Church, and the first 
ordained preacher in Northern Japan of any 
denomination. 

The whole influence of the day must have 
been very valuable to the missionary work in 
that region. The Japanese attended every serv- 
ice, and were very orderly, polite, and attentive. 
They all joined heartily in the singing. The 
congregations were really very impressive, and 
it is certainly very suggestive to have such con- 
gregations and such services in a large heathen 



344 China and Japan. 

city. The church is a neat frame building, fifty 
by forty feet, painted white, circular-topped win- 
dows, with alternate panes of colored glass. 
The audience-room is forty by thirty-nine feet, 
and pleasantly seated. Mr. Harris has also se- 
cured for it a neat organ, and the natives are 
delighted with the music. There were some in- 
teresting customs exhibited by the Japanese in 
connection with their service. As they enter the 
door their sandals are laid aside, and they enter 
the audience-room in their stocking-feet. Every 
member of the Church kneels prostrate on the 
floor, in the peculiar Japanese fashion, bending 
the head also over to the floor. Every person, 
whether a member or not, old and young, at- 
tracts the attention of the preacher sitting in the 
pulpit, and very reverently bows to him. If 
there is any occasion for any one to retire from 
the audience during the service, he rises, attracts 
the attention of the speaker, bows very rever- 
ently, and quietly walks out of the room. When 
the preacher has closed his sermon, he bows to 
the audience, as if expressing thanks for their 
good order and attention, and the entire audience 
bend forward in a very low bow toward the 
preacher, as if expressing their thanks to him for 
the discourse he has delivered to them. It was 
an encouraging day for Mr. Harris and for our 



Island of Yedo. 345 

new missionaries, Mr. Davisson and wife, who a 
week later left for their new home in Hirosaki. 

On Monday evening we held a sacramental 
service in the new chapel. Mr. Kikutchi, a li- 
censed local preacher of Hakodate, preached an 
impressive sermon an hour long, from the text, 
"The spirit of the Lord is upon me," and 
seemed to hold the interest of the natives all the 
time. He is an excellent man, of upright char- 
acter, and well esteemed by all his neighbors, and 
is quite a Japanese and Chinese scholar. His 
discourses are said to be very instructive and 
interesting to the Japanese, though not de- 
livered with much earnestness. After the ser- 
mon, the Lord's-supper was administered, four- 
teen natives, of whom five were women, partak- 
ing thereof. Mr. Honda gave the natives an 
admirable explanation of what is meant by the 
Lord's -supper. It was from a decidedly Prot- 
estant stand-point. 

This is our most northern station in Japan, 
about five hundred miles north of Yokohama. 
The island of Yezo is large, and as yet but thinly 
settled. The government is giving great atten- 
tion to the settlement and development of the 
island, encouraging immigration into it from 
other parts of Japan, and spending much money 
in opening roads, planting schools, and in devel- 



346 China and Japan 

oping what are supposed to be its great agri- 
cultural advantages. Being far north, it has a 
climate resembling that of our own country in 
the same latitudes, from 40 ° to 44 ° north, and 
it is thought will prove the great farming region 
of Japan, especially for the cultivation of the 
foreign grains and fruits, and for raising much 
better breeds of stock than they now have in 
Japan. Coal and iron ore is remarkably abun- 
dant in the province, well distributed and of fair 
quality. Gold and silver occur in small quanti- 
ties, and copper, zinc, and lead are found, but 
not in rich deposits. Petroleum issues in a few 
places. On the whole, Yezo is poor in mineral 
wealth, except iron and coal, in which it seems 
to be rich. The undoubted wealth of this prov- 
ince, which is called Hokkaido, is in timber, fish- 
eries, furs, and agricultural products. It has been 
already proven that Yezo is capable of yielding 
good crops of hardy cereals and vegetables, and 
is eminently adapted to supporting sheep and 
the finest breeds of cattle. 

Sapporo is the capital of the province, and 
contains about eight thousand inhabitants. It is 
about one hundred miles due north-west from 
Hakodate. Here the government has estab- 
lished an Agricultural College, where students 
are sustained and taught free of expense, and 



The Agricultural College. 347 

are considered cadets of the government. The 
town is quite foreign in character, containing the 
capitol, the college buildings and several public 
buildings, all in foreign style. With the college 
building is connected the college farm of two 
hundred and fifty acres. William S. Clark, Ph. 
D., LL. D., late of Amherst, Massachusetts, was 
at this time president and director of the college 
and farm. The number of students is limited to 
fifty in the college. The students are required 
to become employes of the government in this 
province, and to remain in its service for five 
years. The course of study occupies four years, 
^nd embraces the Japanese and English lan- 
guages, elocution, composition, drawing, book- 
keeping and forms of business, algebra, geom- 
etry, trigonometry, surveying, civil engineering, 
physics, astronomy, chemistry, physiology, bot- 
any, zoology, geology, political economy, and 
mental and moral science. There is also a pre- 
paratory department with a three years' course. 
This department now contains twenty-six stu- 
dents. In connection with this college an impor- 
tant work has opened up among the students. 
Mr. Harris, our missionary, visits them as often 
as possible. He has baptized fifteen young men 
and enrolled them as probationers. What may 
we not expect from the Christian influence of 



348 China and Japan. 

this school, out of which are to go the young 
men who are to be the future leaders in this 
great island of Yezo ? 

To the north of the island of Yezo is another 
large island called Saghalien, and running off to 
the north-east of Yezo is a group of islands 
called the Kuriles. All these formerly were 
included among the Japanese islands. The Rus- 
sians, however, began years ago to get a footing 
in these northern islands, and disputes arose 
between the two authorities, finally settled a few 
years ago by the cession of the island of Sagha- 
lien to the Russians in return for the undisturbed 
possession of the Kuriles by the Japanese. It 
well becomes American and European nations to 
keep an observant eye on the movements of this 
rapacious bear in the eastern world. It should 
at once be the settled policy of nations that no 
outside nation should be permitted to get and 
hold territorial possession of any part of Japan, 
especially should the United States firmly oppose 
any such occupancy of Japanese territory by any 
outside nation whatever. 

South of the city of Hakodate, sixty miles 
across the strait, is the city of Hirosaki, with a 
population of thirty-eight thousand, a beautiful 
city in a rich agricultural region. I deeply regret 
that it was impossible for me to reach it, every 



HlRCSAKl. 35 r 

thing then being snow-bound, and no means of 
travel but the native pack-horse, which, under 
the best circumstances, is a very laborious and 
uncomfortable means of travel, but still more so 
in the condition in which the roads were at this 
time. I took, however, great care in studying 
the situation there through our missionaries and 1 
Mr. Honda, of whom I shall speak hereafter. 
Here we have, no doubt, a great work. There 
is located in this city an old damio school, one 
hundred and twenty years old, the pride and pet 
of a princely family, which founded it more than 
a century ago and has sustained it till the present 
time. The representative of the family is now 
an ex-damio, Mr. Tsugaru, living in Tokio, and 
still taking a great interest in the school, and 
furnishing the means for its support. Mr. Ki- 
kutchi, formerly the president of the school, is a 
thorough Christian and a devoted member of our 
Church. Here is also his mother, one of the 
principal teachers in the school, and 'his wife at 
this time was only waiting till "she had studied 
the doctrine better," to become a member of the 
Church. The present president is Mr. Honda, 
whom I had the blessed privilege of ordaining 
a deacon in our Church. Chiefly through his 
instrumentality, the Lord began a most gracious 
and important Christian work in the school, out 



352 China and Japan. 

of which about fifty young men and women have 
been baptized, and are living exemplary and ear- 
nest Christian lives. 

In 1874 Rev. John Ing, formerly of our mis- 
sion in Kiukiang, China, was called to this school 
as a teacher, and began at once active labor as 
teacher and preacher, and has had good success, 
his wife also teaching in the female department, 
and co-operating in the mission work. In 1876 
Mr. Ing was formally attached to our mission, 
and his whole work was transferred to us by the 
hearty choice of all the members. The work is 
still prosperous in every respect. Mr. Ing and 
wife have now returned to America on account 
of her health. They are succeeded in the school 
by the Rev. W. C. Davisson and wife. 

I scarcely know how to write about this 
remarkable work at Hirosaki. I wish it were in 
my power to make the Church see and feel it 
as I do. There is a large school, venerable in 
its history *of a hundred years, the pride and joy 
of the whole ken in which it is located ; entirely 
free from government competition; with nearly 
four hundred pupils, one hundred and twenty 
of them being young ladies ; Christianity thor- 
oughly tolerated by the ex-damio who owns 
it, himself having presented the school with a 
number of Bibles as text -books; its officers 







A DA1MIO AT HOME. 



A Christian School. 355 

thorough Christians and most of the teachers ; 
its whole department of higher education placed 
in our hands ; its course of study equaling that 
of our highest conference seminaries ; its pre- 
pared students going to our colleges in America 
to complete their education ; its whole tone and 
tendency as thoroughly permeated with Christian 
influence as any school in America, and fifty 
of its students, young men and women, members 
of our Church. Outside the school, in and 
around the city, we have other preaching places 
and are meeting with success. 

It will be interesting to the reader to know 
more of Mr. Honda, the moving spirit in this 
school, and our first ordained Japanese preacher. 
I asked him for a short sketch of his life, and 
here present it as written by himself in English, 
and I give it just as he wrote it: 

4 'In the Summer of 1870 I saw a Chinese 
Old Testament in Hirosaki, which one of my 
friends had brought down from Yokohama se- 
cretly, and I read a few chapters of Genesis. It 
showed me at first time that Christianity is not 
Kirishitan (the Roman Catholic religion), as we 
supposed before it was. It was enough for me 
to make think of whether there is a God or not. 
On the last of the said year I was sent to Tokio 
to study English, by our prince, Mr. Tsugaru, 



356 China and Japan. 

whose nearest attendant I was. Since that I 
lived in Yokohama, I was taught a few days by 
Mrs. Goble and after by Mrs. Brown to the Sum- 
mer of 1 87 1, and then after by Rev. Mr. Ballagh, 
and after heard him lecture Bible in Japanese. 
But at that time darkness was over me. T was 
rather sorry to see Christianity is just coming to 
Japan. In the Winter of the said year I returned 
to my home, and went down to Yokohama again 
in the first of 1872. I have found a Christian 
society already organized, most of whom were 
not in the school when I was there in. I won- 
dered very much that rapid progression, and at 
that time I was discouraged with several disap- 
pointments of my ambitious purposes. 

" These circumstances made me humble so 
much as I was able to listen to Gospel preach- 
ing, and soon after it was sweeter than any 
music, and on the first Sabbath of May, 1872, I 
received holy baptism, by Rev. Mr. Ballagh in 
Yokohama. During the Summer of 1874, I 
commenced to preach, and visited several vil- 
lages of Kadzusa and Boshu. In the October 
of said year was elected as one of elder of 
'Church of Christ' in Yokohama, a special na- 
tive Church organization. In the last of Novem- 
ber I returned to my home with Rev. John Ing, 
and preached in Toogi Juku, the college at 






Mr. Honda. 357 

Hirosaki. In July, 1875, I was ordained as lay- 
elder of ' Church of Christ, ' and in October 
of said year, having organized a society in 
Hirosaki, writing to ' Union Church of Tokio 
and Yokohama/ I was transferred to Hirosaki 
Church by letter, and was elected as elder of her. 
On the December, 1876, the Church of Hirosaki 
changed her Church relation, and joined the Meth- 
odist Church. Then I was elected as exhorter, 
and then as local preacher. On the 17th of Feb- 
ruary, 1878, I was ordained as deacon by the 
laying on of hands of Bishop Wiley in Hako- 
date. I am twenty-nine years old. Have a wife 
and three children. Y. Honda/' 

On Thursday we held a very interesting fare- 
well meeting in the chapel, and Friday morning 
we left on the steamer for Yokohama. All the 
little band of Christians met us in the church, 
and accompanied us to the water's edge, and 
waved us adieus as we pulled out in our little 
boat to our ship in the harbor. How often in 
these Oriental countries, and by the manners 
of these people, I was reminded of apostolic 
times. We have seen the beginning of the 
kingdom of God in the island of Yezo. 

2 3 



XXIV. 




Yokol|kir\k to ]\faga^kki. 

$A VING had only one rainy day at Nagasaki, 
on our way over to China, and desiring to 
see all our mission work in Japan, I de- 
termined to return there from Yokohama. 
Accordingly on Saturday, March 2d, I 
re-embarked on the steamer Tokio Maru> 
the same that had carried us, five months be- 
fore, from Yokohama to Shanghai. That strange 
feeling of sadness that comes over us when we 
realize that certain things have come and gone 
forever came over me as I saw again the empty 
places of my former traveling companions, and 
realized in memory the pleasant scenes and com- 
panionship we had enjoyed on the former trip; 
but they are all well and at work in the different 
parts of China. 

Sunday was a clear and quiet day, coasting 
along the eastern shores of Japan with glorious 
Fujiyama, crowned with snow and glittering in 
358 



Kobe and Hiogo. 361 

the sunshine, most of the day in full view, until 
in the afternoon, when about one hundred miles 
distant, it faded away behind the horizon. As 
our vessel belonged to a native company no 
Christian services were allowed on the Sabbath. 

Monday brought us to Kobe, the foreign 
seaport of the great city of Ozaka, lying eighteen 
miles away. It is three hundred and forty-two 
miles from Yokohama. It is the same as when 
we passed it before, but not so beautiful, being 
now in Winter instead of Autumn dress. Until 
1868, this handsome foreign city, now called the 
"Model Settlement," was only a strip of sand to 
the north and east of the old native city of 
Hiogo. It now contains a foreign and native 
population of about fifty thousand, is beautifully 
situated at the base of a range of high, irregular 
mountains, and is very neat and clean — a great 
contrast with the cities of China. High up on 
one of the mountain peaks there is a famous 
temple, built on the foundation of one erected 
sixteen centuries ago, by the Amazonian empress, 
Jingu Kogo, on her return from her invasion 
of Corea. It is visited by many pilgrims. 

Across a narrow canal lies the city of Hiogo, 
the "Gate of God." It is an old city. It was 
founded seven hundred years ago by the famous 
Taira family. Within it is the tomb of Kiyomori, 



362 China and Japan. 

the last of that great family. On the site of his 
palace now stands the Yoshiwara, the great 
licensed house of prostitution. Over his grave, 
which is on a raised plat of ground, stands a 
monolith about twenty feet high. We saw 
many men and women here doing reverence, 
muttering prayers, and offering money and 
grains of rice. 

Also, near by is a large Buddhist temple, at 
which many, especially women, were worshiping. 
Buddhism is a live religion in Japan. At Mina- 
togawa, just back of Kobe, Kusunoki Masashige, 
one of the most loved and honored of Japanese 
heroes, met his death. A small temple is here 
dedicated to his spirit. To the north and east 
of Kobe is a very beautiful waterfall. In the 
center of the city is one of the finest Shinto 
temples in the country. In one part of Kobe is 
a large Buddhist temple, in the main hall of 
which, in the Spring of 1868, an officer of the 
Prince of Bizen committed the horrible act of 
hara-kiri, in the presence of native and foreign 
officers. He had ordered the soldiers under his 
command to fire on the foreign settlement at 
Hiogo, and was condemned to this mode of 
death, which consists of suicide by cutting open 
the abdomen, a swordsman immediately cutting 
off the head after the dagger had been plunged 



Iff 

&' III ' J^" 
iff. 




'"JN 






O'ZAKA. 365 

into the bowels. This horrible mode of punish- 
ment has now passed away. 

We again ran over the eighteen miles of rail- 
road between Kobe and Ozaka. This is one of 
the oldest and most interesting cities of Japan. 
It is mentioned in the history of Jimmu Tenno, 
the first Mikado of Japan, and has been the 
center of the most important events of Japanese 
history ever since ; especially during the great 
contests of Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Iyeyasu. 
It is about twenty miles from Kioto, for centu- 
ries the Mikado's capital. The great Shoguns, 
whose battles have raged around this city, are 
no more, and the sole ruler is the Mikado, with 
his capital at Tokio ; but the walls of its famous 
old castle, where many a battle was fought, are 
still standing intact. It is a vast structure, over- 
spreading many acres, and is surrounded by a 
walled moat a hundred feet wide, and is divided 
into various compartments by strong walls inter- 
secting it in various directions, some of the com- 
partments being themselves also surrounded by 
walled moats. The walls are about forty feet 
high. The corners, and some parts of the wall, 
are made of immense blocks of granite. One 
measures forty feet long, twenty feet wide, and 
ten feet thick ; another, which I measured my- 
self, is thirty feet long, twenty feet wide, and 



366 China and Japan. 

ten feet thick, containing six thousand cubic feet 
of stone. How these immense blocks were got 
there and put in place is an unsolved problem. 
The interior of the castle, its palaces and houses, 
were burned and destroyed many years ago. It 
is now used as a barracks for the soldiers. Many 
modern buildings are inside the walls, occupied 
by the soldiers, who are drilled after the English 
methods of military service. 

Not far from the castle is the mint, an exten- 
sive modern building. Japan has adopted, to a 
very great extent, our system of money, and is 
creating gold and silver coin in amounts from 
twenty dollars in gold to ten cents in silver. 
The custom-house is also a very fine building, 
erected in foreign style. 

At the other end of the city I visited a fa- 
mous Buddhist temple, which was once a strongly 
fortified place, when Buddhist priests took a large 
share in the wars and contests of Japan. It is 
now magnificent only in the extent of its grounds 
and in the number of its buildings. Within the 
1 inclosure are several temples, shrines, pagodas, 
and one of the finest belfries that I saw in Japan. 
It seemed to be a gala day when I was there. 
Thousands of people were within the grounds, 
gayly dressed, all of them worshipers, especially 
the women and children. A brisk trade was 




BI1LFRY AT UZAKA. 



Buddhist Ceremonies. 369 

carried on by the priests, selling and consecrat- 
ing scrolls in shavings and paper. 

The process seemed to consist in the parties 
appearing first at a little wooden booth, and 
paying a few cash for the shaving on which their 
names were written. This was carried to one 
of the great temples, at which were two priests, 
one holding a huge rope, which reached up to 
the bell on the top of the temple, and another 
to receive these shavings and present them, with 
religious ceremonies, to the god. When the 
worshipers appeared the bell-ringer pulled the 
rope and tolled once on the bell, as if to call 
the attention of the god, then passed the shav- 
ings to the hands of the priest, who, bowing, 
laid them before the idol ; then in a little while 
returned them to the bell-ringer, who, taking the 
end of the bell-rope, touched the forehead of 
each worshiper, and returned to them the shav- 
ings. I was curious to know what was then 
done with these shavings. They passed over to 
another small building, covering a living spring, 
around which was a stone-walled cistern, into one 
side of which the limpid water was constantly 
pouring from a bamboo pipe. The shavings 
were thrown into this water, but with what pur- 
pose, or to what effect, I could not find out. 

Hundreds of booths were erected on tlv- 



37o 



China and Japan. 




YOUNG LADY OF OZAKA. 



grounds for selling articles of food and fancy. 
A few side-shows were also going on. A new 



Shimokoseki. 3 7 1 

building is being erected, for which we were told 
all this money, received in these various ways, is 
appropriated. Ozaka is the Japanese Venice. 
It is crossed and recrossed in every direction by 
rivers and canals, over Avhich are constructed 
some very excellent, and one or two beautiful, 
bridges. A lively scene is kept up every night 
on these various streams, on the banks of which, 
and in boats also, are multitudes of places for 
entertainment and amusement. The city is beau- 
tifully situated, lying in a vast basin, surrounded 
by mountains. 

Kobe, Ozaka, and Kioto are well occupied 
by the missionary force of the American Board. 

All day Tuesday, the 5th, we sailed through 
the Inland Sea, than which nothing can be more 
beautiful, even in spite of the drizzling rain, 
which covered the islands with a veil of mist. 
On Wednesday morning we were again at Shim- 
onoseki, the terminus of this famous sea. The 
town lies on one side of an almost circular basin, 
which can only be entered or passed out of by 
narrow, rocky passes. Here one of the most 
disgraceful affairs took place in 1864, when the 
forts and city were bombarded by the English, 
French, Dutch, and Americans. A demand was 
made afterwards of Japan for an indemnity of 
three millions of dollars. The United States 



372 China and Japan. 

received six hundred and forty-five thousand of 
it. Congress has since declared that this claim 
was unjust ; but I think the money has not yet 
been returned to Japan. Here, also, seven hun- 
dred years ago, was fought one of the most ter- 
rible sea fights of Japanese history, when the two 
great families of Minamoto and Taira fought for 
mutual extirpation. The Minamotos prevailed, 
and the Tairas were annihilated. Thousands per- 
ished in the water — men, women, and children. 
Shimonoseki is a town of great commercial im- 
portance, from its position at the entrance to 
the Inland Sea. It consists chiefly of one long 
street, of about two miles, at the base of a range 
of low, steep > hills. Across the narrow straits 
here a submarine telegraph cable connects the 
wires of Nagasaki through Siberia to St. Peters- 
burg, and from Shanghai to London and New 
York, with those of Tokio and Hakodate, thus 
placing Japan in connection with all the world. 



-^ 




XXV. 




SN Thursday night, March 7th, we reached 
Nagasaki. Just before entering the bay 
we had one of the most beautiful displays 
of the phosphorescence of the sea I ever 
saw. A fresh breeze was blowing, and the 
night was cloudy and dark. The track of 
the ship was a glowing stream of light. The 
paddle-boxes seemed as if on fire. Around the 
bow appeared a stream of silver light, and the 
crests of the wavelets were dancing flames. The 
dazzling and tremulous light was such as to make 
it exceedingly difficult for our skillful captain 
and his first officer to guide the ship into the 
narrow entrance of the harbor. 

Nagasaki is as beautiful as ever. Our first 
move was to take a long walk over the hills, 
terraced, some of them, to their summits, from 
five hundred to fifteen hundred feet high. They 
have been cultivated for two thousand years. 

2 4 373 



374 China and Japan. 

From the top of one of these hills a magnificent 
view is had of all the bay and its mountainous 
surroundings, and far out to sea on the south 
and west. Below us, on the east, is the city, 
and immediately at the foot of the hill the 
Yoshiwara, the most extensive series of build- 
ings in the city, and on a greater scale than any 
other that we saw, except at Tokio. Into these 
houses of infamy many young girls were for- 
merly sold by their parents. This is now forbid- 
den under the age of fourteen, and then only 
with the consent of the girl. Many girls for- 
merly, and some yet, voluntarily enter these 
houses to relieve pecuniary distress in their fam- 
ilies, and serve here a term of years, and then 
frequently go out, and sometimes marry well. 
This is esteemed an act of filial devotion. 

Nagasaki is the only open port on the island 
of Kiushiu, the large southern island of the 
Japan group. It is most beautifully situated on 
a land-locked bay, surrounded on every side by 
broken hills. The population is about forty 
thousand ; of foreigners, about one hundred. 
There are some fine foreign residences and good 
public buildings. The city is neat and clean. 
Most of the houses are two-storied, all of them 
as clean as new pins. Among the native public 
buildings the government houses, supreme court, 



Temple of the Fox. 



375 




JAPANESE INTERIOR. 

city court, custom-house, and post-office are 
tasteful, and exhibit evidences of the presence 
and influence of foreign ideas. Cleanliness is a 
marked feature of Nagasaki. Most of the streets 
are paved with large flagging -stones, some of 
them hard, macadamized ways, and the streets are 
kept remarkably clean. In one part of the city 
is a magnificent temple, with extensive and beau- 
tiful grounds, called the Temple of the Fox. It 
stands high up on a hill, reached by two or three 
flights of stone steps, and then passing through 
the huge tori-i, which consists of two upright 
pieces of heavy wood, much like the trunks of 
trees, united together by two cross-pieces at the 
top. From the upper cross-piece there were 



376 China and Japan 

dangling a large number of ropes made of twisted 
straw. On the right-hand side, after entering 
the court, stands a good-sized bronze horse, and 
on the other a bath-tub and spring of water. 
The temple was closed, and we could not enter. 
A stroll through the grounds exhibited various 
plays and games, and booths for selling articles 
of use and amusement There are many temples 
throughout the empire dedicated to the fox, and 
he figures largely in native romances and legends. 
In these grounds I saw many specimens of the 
magnificent Camellia Japonica, grown into large 
trees thirty feet high and a foot in diameter, and 
loaded with flowers. 

In the city is published a native daily paper, 
the Sat Kai Shin Bun, "the West and East 
Newspaper/' printed with movable types, the 
font embracing about seven thousand different 
characters. The same establishment also pub- 
lishes a number of native books. 

Nagasaki is the center of a wonderful history, 
especially of the history of the introduction and 
final extirpation of Christianity, under the Jes- 
uits, in the seventeenth century. Just outside 
the harbor is a beautiful little cone-shaped island 
called Papenberg, Dutch for "Papist's Rock," 
on which took place the last terrible scene of 
this history of persecution. Goaded to desper- 



Roman Catholics. 379 

ate resistance, the Christians gathered at Shima- 
bara, not many miles south-east of Nagasaki, 
and offered battle. They were soon vanquished 
and routed, and kept retiring till the last frag- 
ment, said to have numbered about three thou- 
sand, were driven to Papenberg, and finally over 
the precipitous rock into the sea. In another 
place we will recur to this terrible history, the 
influence of which remains here still, and mani- 
fests itself in opposition to foreigners and in 
hatred of Christianity. 

For the same reason, too, it is the center of 
great interest to the Catholics, who are laboring 
industriously here to replant on this bloody soil 
the seed so thoroughly destroyed two hundred 
and forty years ago. About four miles beyond 
Nagasaki, above the head of the bay, is a Roman 
Catholic settlement of about five hundred fam- 
ilies, fragments of the old history and inheritors 
of the old persecutions — a large number having 
been exiled from here in 1870, but returned in 
1872. Exactly facing this historical ground, but 
four miles away in the southern part of the city, 
is the Catholic church and grounds. The situa- 
tion is beautiful. The church is plain and sub- 
stantial. Before it stands, on a granite pedestal, 
a stone image of the Virgin, "erected to the 
memory of the martyred native Christians ;" on 



380 China and Japan. 

the front of the pedestal is engraved, " Our Lady 
of Japan, pray for us;" on one side, " Queen 
of the martyrs, pray for us;" on another, "Pro- 
tector of Christians, pray for us." Inside of the 
church, on each side of the alcove in which the 
altar stands, are two large paintings, one repre- 
senting the trial and vain attempts to induce the 
early Christians to recant, and the other showing 
thirty-two of them dying by crucifixion. With 
what a subtle instinct these Romanists adapt the 
picturesque and the sensuous to the genius, char- 
acter, and sentiments of a people! It was Lent 
when we were there, and daily scores of their 
members walked the weary four miles to con- 
fession and communion. 

But old Japan is dead. Across the bay is a 
vast system of boiler and machine shops under 
government control. The work is done by na- 
tives under foreign supervision. Close by is a 
magnificent granite dock-yard, just finished, one 
hundred feet wide and five hundred feet long. 
At Nagasaki are concentrated the telegraphic 
lines, which put new Japan in instant commu- 
nication with the heart throbs of the world, 
these are great civilizers. The beating of these 
hammers, the noise of this vast machinery, and 
the steam vessels and gunboats lying in the 
harbor, and the bells on the Christian churches 



Q UAR TERL Y MEE TING. 38 1 

in the city are all giving the death knell to the 
past. Beautiful Nagasaki, terrible Kiushiu, the 
long-suffering Christ, whom you persecuted two 
centuries ago, has come again to call you to 
new life. 

On Tuesday, March 9th, we held a quarterly 
conference at Nagasaki ; present, Rev. J. C. Da- 
vison, our only missionary here ; Mr. Asuga 
Kenjiro, a local preacher, who has been recom- 
mended to the Newark Annual Conference, a 
very bright, scholarly, fluent man, and Kucumbai 
Serizo, a student helper, a brother of Asuga. 
Mr. Davison reported five members, four proba- 
tioners, and three baptized children. The Meth- 
odist mission has a very neat church or chapel 
building on Desima, the famous residence of the 
Dutch in old-time history. It is sixty by thirty- 
five feet ; the audience-room is thirty-two by 
forty-eight, with a fine, strong, open roof; the 
outside is frame and plaster, surmounted with a 
steeple, the whole height being one hundred feet. 
The Church of England Mission has also a pleas- 
ant chapel, and is building a residence on this 
island. On the hill-side w r e have a pleasant, 
healthful location, with one house upon it, and 
room for another. 

On Sunday we had an interesting day in the 
chapel. In the morning a baptismal and sacra- 



382 China and Japan 

mental service. I addressed the candidates, Mr. 
Davison interpreting, who also read the service in 
Japanese, and I baptized two women, one the wife 
of our student helper, and the other the mother 
of the wife of Mr. Asuga. After this we had the 
sacrament of the Lord's-supper, four natives par- 
taking. The native congregation numbers thirty- 
four. At night Mr. Asuga preached a short 
sermon, I made a short address, which Mr. Da- 
vison interpreted, and followed by an earnest 
speech. The subject of all the addresses was a 
statement of the purposes and aims of Christian 
missions in Japan. The congregation was very 
attentive, at one time numbering eighty-seven. 
More than one hundred natives were in the 
church during the evening. 

My heart was profoundly won in behalf of 
our mission work in this important city. The 
missionary force at Nagasaki is entirely too small. 
The Reformed Church of America is represented 
by Mr. Stout and wife, and the Church of Eng- 
land by Mr. Maundrill and wife, who also expect 
a re-enforcement in the Autumn of one family. 
This is merely wasting the means and energies 
of the Church, and subjecting the missionaries to 
an isolation that is cruel. The field is a most 
inviting, though a difficult one. I am convinced 
a wise providence has lead us into it. Out of 



The Future of Nagasaki. 383 

the terrible history of the past, God will here 
gather a people unto his name. It is one of the 
most important, powerful and influential portions 
of the empire. It is called by many "the New 
England of Japan." In a little while the mighty 
sentiment that has pervaded this island for two 
centuries, first in favor and then against a false 
form of Christianity, will perceive the difference 
between the true and the false, and will turn 
toward that name for which tens of thousands 
of their ancestors suffered martyrdom. But if 
true Christianity is to reap in this country the 
real harvest, the whole Church must show a 
much stronger front than now. Each of these 
three missions in Nagasaki should be at once 
re-enforced. The various women's missionary so- 
cieties should immediately establish schools in 
this beautiful city, and send ladies also, whose 
business should be solely to work among the 
native women. Would to God the Church in 
America and Europe could be made to appre- 
ciate the state of things in Japan. In my delib- 
erate opinion there has never been any thing 
like it in the history of missions; and yet, in the 
midst of all these great birth-throes of a nation 
of thirty-five millions, coming forth into a new 
and better life, all that the great Methodist 
Church of the United States has been doing for 



384 China and Japan. 

five years, is to sustain one family in each of four 
great centers, and two families in another. 

On Saturday, the 16th, I again embarked on 
the Tokio Maru } on her return voyage from 
Shanghai, and on Thursday, the 21st, arrived 
at Yokohama. 




1 




XXVI. 



Yokol|krqa, 



qv T/'- 



|p|OMMODORE PERRY entered the bay of 
l|fP Yedo in the Summer of 1853, delivered 
Atk his messages to the authorities, and in i8^zl 



i: 



his messages to the authorities, and in 1854 
returned to receive their answers, when, 
for the first time in Japanese history, a 
" treaty was made with a foreign Christian 
nation, and Japan was opened to foreign trade 
and intercourse. Other nations soon followed, 
and three places (subsequently increased to six) 
were designated where foreigners might live and 
do business. One of these original places was 
Kanagawa, a little town on the border of the 
bay of Yedo, separated from what has since 
become Yokohama by a narrow stream. The 
foreigners were not well pleased with this con- 
cession, and supposed it to be an evasion on 
the part of the Japanese, who wished to place 
them on an island, instead of on the main-land, 
that it might still be said foreigners were not 



386 China and Japan. 

living in Japan. The foreigners preferred the 
city of Yokohama, then only a little fishing vil- 
lage on the shore of the bay. It is now a great 
city and port of trade, with a native population 
of seventy-five thousand, and of foreigners about 
twelve hundred. It is eighteen miles from Tokio, 
the capital, and may be considered the great 
entrepot for Japan. 

It is divided into the " Bluff," the "Settle- 
ment," and "the Native Town." The Bluff is 
on the crown of a semicircular range of hills 
back of the plain. It is the residence of most 
of the foreigners, who have pleasant and taste- 
ful, though not substantial or costly buildings 
for their homes, generally surrounded by some 
grounds, neatly cultivated, and planted with the 
semi-tropical plants of the country. There are 
about three hundred of these houses or cottages 
on the Bluff, and with the neat, clean avenues 
and the broken hills and valleys make a beau- 
tiful and picturesque place. 

"The Settlement" is the foreign business 
part of the city, and about a mile square. 
Along the water front is the Bund, with a wall 
of masonry on the water side. The Japanese 
town spreads out back of the settlement, and 
along the shores of the bay and canal. The 
harbor is large and fine, and generally has from 



Yokohama. 



5S7 



thirty to fifty vessels in it. The streets are wide 
and well macadamized, and are kept in good 
order and clean. Not many horses or vehicles 
are seen, men here, as in all the East, being 
the beasts of burden. Two-wheeled carts, heavy 




AT HOME. 



and clumsy, but carefully balanced in the center 
and hauled by two or four men, carry enormous 
loads. The Jinrikisha is the carriage for nearly 
all classes. The foreign stores are numerous, and 
keep all kinds of foreign goods, and sell about as 
cheaply as in America. There are now many 
native stores running strong competition in the 
retail trade with foreigners. The Chinese are the 
money changers of the city. There are several 
foreign banks with a large capital, branches of 
the " Oriental," "Hong Kong and Shanghai," 
and others. The Japanese houses and stores 



388 China and Japan. 

are small, very simple, entirely open in the front, 
clean, and appear for all the world as if the 
people are children playing at housekeeping, 
storekeeping, etc. 

The English give tone to every thing. They 
are of two classes, the best and the vilest and 
meanest representatives of old England. The 
aggregate foreign influence here and nearly all 
through the East is unchristian. The foreign 
residents number about twelve hundred, but sol- 
diers, sailors, and so forth make up a floating 
population of about fifteen hundred more. A 
narrow gauge railroad runs to Tokio. Yokohama 
is telegraphically connected with all the world. 

A very pleasant ride in the Jinrikisha carried 
us over the hills, through the inevitable race- 
course, near to which is also a large American 
farm and dairy, down into a picturesque valley, 
through which runs a canal cut by the govern- 
ment, completely surrounding Yokohama, mak- 
ing it still true that the foreigners live on an 
island. Our ride then passes out to Mississippi 
Bay, a beautiful alcove looking far out toward 
Cape King in the distance. We retrace our 
course along this shore, visiting a very pic- 
turesque Shinto temple, hid away among bam- 
boos and pines, on a rocky eminence at the head 
of the bay. Then we pass through several vil- 



*W 




Influence of Foreigners. 391 

lages and rice and wheat fields back to the city. 
The country is rich and highly cultivated. 

It is a matter greatly to be regretted that 
there is but little harmony or sympathy between 
the general foreign community in these Oriental 
cities and the missionaries. It is not, however, 
strange that this should be the case. Their pur- 
suits are entirely different, and the objects which 
they wish to obtain very frequently cross lines, 
the missionary seeming to be in the way of the 
objects and purposes of the merchant, and many 
of the ways and transactions of the merchants and 
traders being obviously in the way of the work of 
the missionaries. While but little is said on the 
part of the missionaries against the foreign tra- 
ders, except in sorrowful recognition of the fact 
that the general influence of the lives and trade 
of these foreigners is, to say the least, unchris- 
tian, if not directly anti-Christian, the traders 
seldom mention the missionary except to speak 
of him and his work in very low terms, and 
make a very unjust and erroneous impression on 
the minds of new-comers, and even by their let- 
ters and reports on many minds in the countries 
from which they come. There is also an un- 
happy tendency in the newspapers published in 
these cities to take a very unjust and unappre- 
ciative view of the lives and work of the mis- 



392 China and Japan. 

sionaries. The simple fact is, these merchants, 
traders, and editors actually know scarcely any 
thing of the work or methods or successes of the 
missionaries. The most of them never visit a 
mission church or chapel or school. A great 
many of them never attend any religious service 
of any kind, and thus are, of course, entirely 
incompetent to offer an opinion on the doings or 
successes of missionaries. It will not be out 
of place here to quote from a very excellent and 
fair observer, who spent a number of years in 
Yokohama and Tokio, Mr. Griffis, late of the 
Imperial University of Tokio, and author of the 
"The Mikado's Empire/' his estimate of this 
disputed question between the general foreign 
community and the missionaries : 

"Scarcely one person in a hundred of those 
who so freely indulge in and so keenly enjoy 
the gossip and criticism about missionaries real- 
izes their need of human sympathy, or shows 
that fair play which teaches us that they are but 
men like ourselves. The men of business and 
leisure, for every thing except their tongues, 
are utterly unable to understand the missionary's 
life, work, or purposes. Apart from the fact 
that a man who strives to obey the final and, 
perhaps, the most positive command of the great 
founder of Christianity, to ' preach the Gospel 



Opposition to Missionaries. 393 

to every creature,' should win respect so far as 
he obeys that command, it is also most unques- 
tionably true that some of the very best, most 
conscientious, though quiet work, in the civiliza- 
tion of Japan has been done by missionaries. 
They were the first teachers, and the first coun- 
selors whose advice was sought and acted upon 
by the Japanese were the missionaries ; and the 
oldest, ripest fruits of scholarship, the aids to the 
mastery of the Japanese language, were and are 
the work of missionaries. The luster shed upon 
American scholarship by missionaries in China 
and Japan casts no shade even in the light of the 
splendid literary achievements of the English 
civil service. Besides this, a community in which 
the lives of the majority are secretly or openly 
at variance with the precepts of the Great 
Teacher can not, even on general principles, be 
expected to sympathize very deeply with, or 
even comprehend, the efforts of men who are 
social heretics. It is hard to find a foreign trader 
in Japan who has any clear idea of what the 
missionaries are doing or have done. Their 
dense ignorance on this whole matter borders on 
the ridiculous." 

The missionary force is represented at Yoko- 
hama, by the American Baptist, three; American 
Board, one ; Methodist Episcopal, two ; Amer- 



394 China and Japan. 

ican Presbyterian, four ; American Reformed, 
five; and American Women's Union, seven, — in 
all, twelve families and ten single ladies. Among 
these are some who have made themselves illus- 
trious in missionary labor, both in China and 
Japan, such as Dr. R. S. Brown, of the Amer- 
ican Reformed Church ; Dr. N. Brown, of the 
Baptist Mission; Dr. Greene, of the American 
Board ; Dr. Hepburn, of the American Presby- 
terian ; Dr. Maclay, of the Methodist Episcopal, 
and others that we might name. 

The report of the Methodist Mission is as 
follows : Missionary families, 2 ; preachers on 
trial, 5 ; Student helpers, 3 ; Bible women, 2 ; 
total agents, 14; members, 46; probationers, 
54; total, 100: girls' school, 1; pupils, 11; 
boys' schools, 2; pupils, 115: Sunday-schools, 
3; scholars, 131; chapels, 1; worth, $2,000; 
preaching places, 12; parsonages, 2; value, 
$8,000; school-houses, 1; value, $600; building 
lots, value, $800. 

The great business of the city is done by the 
" merchants" and in the " hongs," the distinc- 
tion between merchant and storekeeper, and be- 
tween hong and store, being immense in these 
eastern countries. With us a shopkeeper is 
a man and brother; in Yokohama, in the eye 
of the clubs, and with the elect of wealth and 



Foreign Trade. 397 

fashion and the professions, and the owners and 
managers of the great hongs, he is but a heathen 
and a publican. The streets in which the hongs 
or large business houses are situated are rather 
gloomy when compared with the lively main 
street on which the business of the stores is 
done. Most of them are solid buildings of 
stone, and many of them are fire-proof godowns, 
or store-houses. Most of the largest and wealth- 
iest business houses are owned and managed by 
old companies, long since settled in China, their 
establishments here being branches of the Chi- 
nese houses. These large firms control nearly 
all the export trade of Yokohama and, indeed, 
of Japan, The foreign trade of Japan has al- 
ready assumed very considerable proportions. 
The total exports for 1877 were, in value, $3,- 
433,847. The value of the imports for the same 
year was $2,978,588, leaving a comfortable ex- 
cess of exports of $455,000. The Japanese 
charge both import and export duties. The 
duties realized from their exports in that year 
amounted to $142,157; on imports, $126,695. 
The whole duty received from the foreign trade, 
including storage, clearance, etc., was $272,057. 
The chief port for all this trade is Yokohama ; 
some of it, however, being carried on at other 
cities, which we have already mentioned. The 



398 China and Japan. 

principal article of export is raw silk, $1,841,700. 
Tea is the next highest, $427,573. Silk-worms' 
eggs, $160,000; ginseng, $31,000; cuttle-fish, 
$17,420; cocoons, $60,931. There is also a 
great export of gold and silver coin, the Japa- 
nese coin being so pure as to command a pre- 
mium abroad. The specie and bullion exported 
amounts to $1,128,000. Rice, also, amounts 
to $321,379. Of imports, the chief articles are, 
cotton yarn, cotton manufactures, blankets, man- 
ufactured iron bars, kerosene oil, sugar, woolen 
cloth, watches, leather, and Mexican dollars. 

Perhaps there is nothing that will more strik- 
ingly show the remarkable advance of Japan 
toward a higher civilization than the wonderful 
development of their postal system, which was 
first adopted only seven years ago, and which 
now extends throughout the empire, and fur- 
nishes the people as perfect advantages for com- 
munication as any other country affords. The 
seventh annual report shows that the Japanese 
have not been slow to avail themselves of their 
privileges. The number of letters, books, news- 
papers, etc., sent through the mail for the year 
was 47,192,286, over 25,000,000 of which were 
letters, and nearly 10,000,000 native newspapers. 
The people are evidently given to reading and 
writing. In addition, there were 10,036,960 



Postal System. 399 

postal-cards used. The aggregate length of the 
mail routes is 35,545 miles, with 3,792 post- 
offices, and 6,455 receptacles for mail matter. 
There are street letter-boxes in all the principal 
cities, and a system of free delivery, employing 
1,971 carriers. The expenses of the department 
for the year were $768,494, and the receipts 
$813,778.21, showing it to be a profitable insti- 
tution. Money orders were issued to the num- 
ber of 204,367, and to the amount of $2,790,303, 
a decrease from the preceding year, caused by 
the increase in the number of national banks. 
There is also a system of postal savings-banks 
that is evidently very popular with the people; 
for the sum placed in the keeping of the 282 
places that received deposits reached $208,994, 
an increase of 517.7 per cent over the preceding 
year. The number of depositors was 48,358, 
and the average amount deposited by each was 
a little over $17. 

Yokohama is situated in about the same lat- 
itude as San Francisco, but in climate and tem- 
perature resembles those of a much lower lati- 
tude in our country. The range of temperature 
does not reach any great extreme, either in 
Winter or in Summer. The highest heat in 
August is ninety degrees ; the lowest in January, 
twenty degrees. Steady hot weather, when it is 



400 China and Japan. 

considered safe to change to light Summer cloth- 
ing, does not generally set in till the latter part 
of June or the first of July, and ends, often very 
abruptly, by the middle of September. The 
winds of Japan are at all seasons very irregular, 
frequently violent, and subject to sudden changes. 
The north-east and easterly winds are generally 
accompanied by rain, with a high and falling 
barometer, and are usually not violent. The 
south-west and westerly winds are generally 
high, often violent, and accompanied by a low 
barometer. It is from the south-west that the 
cyclones or typhoons almost invariably come. 
On clear and pleasant days, which are in excess 
of all others, there is a regular land and sea 
breeze at all seasons. The snow-fall is for the 
most part light, not often exceeding two or three 
inches. The ice seldom exceeds one inch or one 
and a half inches "in thickness. Fogs are rarely 
noticed; so also is hail. Thunder-storms are 
neither frequent nor severe. Earthquake shocks 
are frequent, averaging more than one a month; 
but during the residence of foreigners in Yoko- 
hama no very severe or dangerous shocks have 
occurred. 

A delightful ride of about twelve miles from 
Yokohama brings you to the ancient city of 
Kamakura, the famous capital of the Shogunate 




GREAT IMAUR OF DAIBUTZU. 



The Great Buddha. 403 

preceding the line established by Izeyasu. All 
that now remains of a city, which must have 
been one of great magnificence, is a cluster of 
large temples, in which are preserved numerous 
trophies taken from the Coreans, Mongols, and 
Chinese, and also articles taken two hundred 
years ago from the Portuguese colonies and the 
Roman Catholic Christians in Japan. 

A few years ago it was dangerous to visit 
these ancient relics, but now foreigners can visit 
the neighborhood and gaze upon the temples in 
safety, and they can also have a view of the 
greatest curiosity in Japan ; namely, the statue 
of Daibutz, or the Great Buddha. This immense 
image stands about two miles from the temples, 
in a garden and grove of bamboos. It is of 
the finest bronze, and executed with wonderful 
skill. It is so large that it contains a chapel 
and altar inside of it, and a full-grown man can 
sit inside of its nose ! Its height is about sixty- 
five feet, and its diameter thirty feet. It was 
made about six hundred years ago ; and the 
lofty temple which inclosed it has long since 
disappeared, and for centuries this statue has 
been exposed to the storms which come in from 
the neighboring sea ; but it is as fresh and un- 
injured as when first erected. 



XXVII. 



,;^ . 



¥tie dity of Vokio, 




VERY excellent narrow -guage railroad, 
with rather extravagant appointments in 
the way of cars, depots, and bridges, and 
about eighteen miles in length, carries you 
from Yokohama to Tokio. The road is a 
very pleasant and beautiful one, skirting 
around the shore of the bay, and presenting 
every moment, to one acquainted with Japanese 
history, spots and sites of intense interest. A 
very magnificent and costly iron bridge, whose 
splendid architecture you can not but admire, 
but over the extravagant waste of money in the 
building of which you can not help but feel in- 
dignant, crosses one of the chief rivers of Japan, 
the Rokugo. The railway passes through rice 
lands, and several times crosses the Tokaido, the 
famous public road extending from old Yedo to 
Kioto, the mikado's capital. The last station is 

at Shinigawa, the highest point up the bay, to 
404 



SHO G UN AND MlKAD O. 40 5 

which vessels of any considerable tonnage can 
ascend. In the bay here may be seen a number 
of forts, now dismantled, built by the Japanese, 
under the direction of French engineers, for the 
defense of Yedo. Beyond this is the anchorage 
of the imperial navy. At length we reach 
Shimibashi, the quarter of the great Japanese 
capital in which the railway station is situated. 
The depot is a magnificent building. A ride of 
another mile in the jinrikisha will bring us to 
the region called Tsukiji, the foreign quarter in 
Tokio, in which nearly all the homes of foreign- 
ers residing at Tokio are located. 

Till a few years ago the city now known as 
Tokio was known to the outside world as Yedo, 
the capital of the Tycoon, who was then sup- 
posed to be the emperor of Japan, and Yedo 
its real capital. All this has been changed 
within about ten years ; and it is now known 
that the real capital for many centuries was 
Kioto, and the real emperor was the mikado, 
who resided there, and that the Tycoonate, or, 
more properly, the shogunate, was a usurpation 
of more than six hundred years' duration, in 
which successive shoguns, whose real position 
was that of commanders-in-chief of the army, 
had assumed regal style and authority, holding 

the mikado as a very useful and honorable 

26 



406 China and Japan 

figure-head, while the real power was in the 
hands of the shogun. For nearly five centuries 
this usurpation was held in the famous success- 
ive families of the Yoritomos, Ashukagas, and 
Hojos, the whole period being one of strife and 
bloodshed and internecine war. Then, in the 
latter part of the sixteenth century, came the 
celebrated houses of Nobunaga, Hfdeyoshi, and 
Iyeyasu, who crushed the Hojo family. Out of 
a long series of contests the famous Iyeyasu 
came superior, and founded the line of Tokugawa 
shoguns, which reigned in fact over all Japan 
for more than two hundred and fifty years, hav- 
ing their capital at Yedo. 

At length their power began to break, the 
coming of foreigners being the entering wedge. 
A party rose in favor of the mikado. Most of 
the daimios, or princes, joined it. A few una- 
vailing battles were fought by the adherents of 
of the shogun, the final one at Uyeno, in Yedo, 
in 1868, after which the last of the shoguns re- 
tired into private life, at Shidzuoka. The mikado 
moved to Yedo, changed its name to Tokio, the 
Eastern Capital, and inaugurated a series of won- 
derful changes, which are perpetually converting 
Tokio, and, indeed, all Japan, into a modern civ- 
ilized nation. 

The present mikado, named Mitsuhito, is the 



Beginnings of Yedo. 409 

one hundred and twenty-third lineal descendant 
of Jimmu Tenno, the founder of the dynasty 
twenty-five hundred years ago. He is about 
twenty-eight years old, and is the first mikado 
who, for seven hundred years, has had any real 
power in the government, though recognized all 
the time as the supreme head of the nation and 
the dispenser of all authority and honor. His 
predecessors lived in Kioto, shut up in a castle 
called Dairi, never, except under the most ex- 
ceptional circumstances, leaving it during their 
life-time. The present emperor and his wife now 
travel ad libitum, and are both frequently seen on 
public occasions. The empress is said to be a 
charming woman, and is taking quite an interest 
in the modernizing changes which are going on 
in the empire. 

For the last two hundred and fifty years, 
however, the glory and power of Japan centered 
under the Tokugawa shoguns at Yedo. To this 
place Iyeyasu, the founder of the line, came in 
1590, and found there a castle of no great extent, 
built about one hundred and fifty years before 
by Ota Dokuan, under the Ashikaga shogunate. 
It was surrounded by a few villages, and was in 
the midst of a locality flat, marshy, and over- 
grown with weeds. Iyeyasu was then only first 
general under Hideyoshi, but he soon became 



41 o China and Japan. 

shogun himself, and fixed his capital at Yedo, 
and began to rebuild and greatly enlarge the 
castle, and the city rapidly grew up around it. 
It is now a vast city, nine miles long and eight 
miles wide, about an eighth of its area being 
occupied by rivers, canals, and moats of the 
castle. The shiro or castle is nearly in the cen- 
ter of the city, now dismantled, the palace hav- 
ing been burned in 1873. The mikado now 
lives in the yashiki or mansion of the daimio 
of Kishiu. 

The present population is about a million, 
and it probably never greatly exceeded that 
number, though we used to have it in the old 
geographies at two and a half millions. About 
two hundred and fifty foreigners, mostly English 
and Americans live in the city, and most of them 
in government employ. Tsukiji, in the south- 
eastern part, is the foreign "Concession," and 
no foreigners are yet allowed to live outside 
of this, except those employed by the govern- 
ment. Many of these latter live in the heart 
of the city, in foreign houses, built on the ruins 
of the old yashikis, or mansions of the daimios. 
Every one engaged in teaching a native school 
is, by a happy subterfuge, supposed to be in 
government service, and therefore some mission- 
aries who are teaching part of the time are also 



Old Ye do. 411 

preaching part of the time, and thus gain a 
residence in the city proper. 

In former times it was a great, brilliant, 
wicked metropolis. Many of the daimios or no- 
bles, from all parts of the empire, built here 
great yashikis or castles, and with their vast 
retinue of retainers spent most of their time in 
the regal city. Great changes have taken place 
since 1868, when the mikado took possession of 
the government. The city is now in that unset- 
tled and unsatisfactory state always incident to a 
time of transition. One can not help regretting 
the perishing of the past, nor can one refrain 
from rejoicing over the better future that is rap- 
idly coming. Old Japan is passing away, and 
the new order of things is rapidly taking its 
place. In a little while its ways and customs 
will be forgotten, and Tokio will be a modern- 
ized and foreignized city. Instead of the old 
castles and yashikis, we now have courts, schools, 
colleges, machine shops, banks, telegraphs, and 
post-offices. The whistle of the locomotive is 
heard at one end of the city and the puffing 
of the steamships at the anchorage. After each 
great fire, and they have at least one every year, 
the burned district is rebuilt in more modern 
and substantial style. Native officials of every 
grade are now seen walking and riding about 



4i2 China and Japan. 

in European dress. The two swords formerly 
dangling at the side of every samurai, have dis- 
appeared, and in the stead of this half-civilized 
grandee has arisen a scholarly, courteous, Amer- 
ican dressed gentleman. 

To the antiquarian, the places of interest in 
Tokio are the castle, shiba, uyeno, asakusa, and 
the various temples ; to the Christian and philan- 
thropist, the public buildings, which indicate so 
strikingly the wonderful changes taking place in 
Japan. The castle, or shiro, surrounded by its 
moats and massive walls, was the residence and 
citadel for the last two hundred and fifty years 
of the last line of shoguns, or tycoons as they 
were erroneously called by foreigners. It is near 
the center of the city and is divided and subdi- 
vided by walls and moats. Formerly its vast 
spaces and avenues were occupied by the ya- 
shikis or palaces of the princes of the empire and 
officers of the city, and the daimios or provincial 
barons. Many of these yashikis were themselves 
magnificent, princely establishments. Within the 
inner walled and moated inclosure were the pal- 
aces of the shogun and his family. In one part 
of the inclosure were the Fukiage gardens, beau- 
tifully laid out in forests, mounds, and plains. 
Their magnificent itrees, miniature cascades and 
lakes, and many little picturesque shrines are still 




A SHINTO TEMPLE. 



A Shinto Temple. 415 

left — the palaces are gone. It is now simply a 
vast pleasure ground, open every Saturday to 
visitors by ticket. Every body now freely goes 
where a few years ago it was death even for a 
daimio to enter without special permission. Its 
great avenues, on which formerly stood the man- 
sions of the daimios, are now thoroughfares, and 
many old and princely grounds are now occu- 
pied by public buildings, schools, government 
arsenals, soldiers' barracks, etc. 

On a fine avenue to the north is the best 
Shinto temple in the city. It was built by the 
present emperor in memory of the soldiers of the 
imperial army who were slain during the recent 
war which restored the mikado to power. It is 
built in the simple style of architecture peculiar 
to the Shinto temple, a style derived from the 
primeval hut, the rafters projecting above the 
top, the ridge-pole and cross-ties of the hut be- 
ing easily traced in this structure. It is of un- 
painted, white wood, like all Shinto temples. 
The interior is very plain. There are no idols, 
the symbols being a circular mirror and strips 
of white paper, called the go-hei. At the begin- 
ning of the wide avenue leading to it is the 
ever present Tori-i, in this case made of whole 
tree trunks of cedar. Its appearance is near 
that' of two huge, double-armed crosses, joined 



416 China and Japan. 

together by their arms. It means "bird's-rest," 
and was originally a perch for the fowls offered 
to the gods, not as food, but to give warning of 
the daybreak. It was erected on any side of the 
temple indifferently. In later times its meaning 
was forgotten, it was placed in front of the tem- 
ple only, and was supposed to be a gateway. 
The Tori-i gradually assumed the character of a 
general symbol of Shinto, and the number which 
might be erected to the honor of a deity became 
practically unlimited. The Buddhists made it of 
stone or bronze, and frequently of red painted 
wood, using it almost entirely as a gateway to 
their temples. As a rule, when pure, Shinto 
temples are of unpainted wood. Shinto is the 
ancient national religion of Japan. 

The climate of Tokio is, in general, very 
agreeable, though wind and dust at some inter- 
vals, and excessive rain at others, make traveling 
very unpleasant. It is situated on a large plain 
about nine miles long and eight miles wide. The 
Japanese emperor, Yamato Dake No Mikoto in 
the second century conquered and tranquilized 
this great plain of Eastern Japan. Many tem- 
ples in his honor are to be found here. In 1355 
Ota Do Kuan, a famous warrior and vassal of the 
shogun, Sadamasa, whose capital was Kamakura, 
twelve miles from Yokohama, built a castle, 






Former Sights. 417 

which still constitutes the western circuit of the 
present stronghold. The famous Iyeyasu is the 
real founder and builder of Yedo. The name 
Yedo means the "door of the bay," it being 
situated at the head of the bay and shutting it 
like a door. It is greatly changed, in all re- 
spects, since 1868. The castle and many yashikis 
and temples have been burned, demolished and 
fallen to decay. New houses in what is called 
the foreign style, and stone and brick barracks 
have been built. Beggars, naked coolies, men 
wearing two swords, daimios, processions, and 
many other characteristic sights and scenes, some 
very attractive and others very repulsive, have 
passed away. 




<2^P 



xxvur. 



$igW in ¥okio. 



jjjJHIBA and Uyeno are the ancient burial 

§|§ll places of the shoguns of Yedo, one in the 

aL southern, and one in the northern part 

I of the city. They are considered the most 

£ beautiful places in Japan except Nikko, 

^ ninety miles north of Tokio, where Iyeyasu, 

the founder of the line, and his grandson, 

Iyemitsu, are buried. Both have been greatly 

changed since 1869, both by neglect and by the 

fact that in each place the great main temple has 

been burned down, one in 1868, and the other in 

1873. The magnificent temples which were the 

pride of Yedo, are no more, but the beautiful 

grounds and gorgeous shrines, which it is almost 

useless to attempt to describe, the imposing but 

simple tombs, some in bronze, some in carved 

granite, the stone and bronze lanterns, the splendid 

gilding, carving, painting, and lacquering are still 

here. Of the shoguns, the second, fifth, sixth, 
418 



Shiba. 419 

seventh, ninth, twelfth, and fourteenth are buried 
at Shiba. The fourth, eighth, tenth, eleventh, 
and thirteenth are buried at Uyeno. Five wives 
of the shoguns and the father of the eleventh 
are buried at Uyeno, and three wives at Shiba. 
In visiting Shiba, which retains more of the 
magnificence and picturesque beauty of the olden 
time, we pass through a handsomely gilded and 
carved gateway. We enter another court-yard, 
the sides of which are gorgeously adorned. A 
pebbled court lies before us, in which are over 
two hundred large stone lanterns about eight feet 
high. We pass another gate and are within an 
area, in which are a large number of bronze lan- 
terns of equal height, the gift of the daimios 
of a higher caste than those who presented the 
stone lanterns. On our left hand is a stone 
lavatory, and to the right is a depository of sa- 
cred utensils, such as bells, lanterns, etc., used 
only on festival days. Passing through still 
another handsome gate, we enter a roofed gal- 
lery like a series of cloisters, and in front of us is 
a shrine. Entering this the attention will at once 
be attracted by the walls and ceilings. Each 
panel of the wall is richly wrought in figures in 
high relief, the pattern and objects in each one 
being different. You ascend some steps and 
enter another room, in which are splendid gilded 



42 o China and Japan. 

reliquaries, in which the posthumous titles of the 
deceased are treasured. Descending from the 
shrines, which are themselves beautifully gilded 
and carved, we pass up another court, ascend a 
flight of steps, and enter another pebbled court, 
in which is a smaller building called a Haiden. 
or place of prayer, formerly used by the living 
shogun as a place of prayer and meditation 
when making his annual visit to the tombs of 
his ancestors. Behind it is another flight of 
stone steps, and in an inclosure surrounded by a 
stone balustrade is a monumental urn, and this 
is the burial-place of the dead shogun. 

Entering the cemetery from the court -yard, 
to the right of the site of the temple, three 
tombs, side by side, are seen. From the last 
of these three tombs, facing east and looking to 
the left, we see two other tombs, those of the 
seventh and ninth shoguns. Descending the 
steps and reaching the next stone platform, by 
looking down to the left, we see the tomb of a 
shogun's wife and of two of his children. These 
are all fully as magnificent as the one we have 
described. 

Apart from the others, surrounded by stone 
walls and pebbled courts, and preceded by two 
or three magnificent buildings, is the tomb of 
Hidetacla, who died in 1623, the second prince 



Fujiyama. 421 

of the line, and whose name is intimately asso- 
ciated with the terrible history of the persecu- 
tions of the Christians in the seventeenth century. 
Take it altogether, it impressed me as the most 
beautiful of the whole. It is very finely laquered 
in gilt. The tomb was a most costly one, and 
it is in an almost perfect state of preservation. 
But it is in vain to attempt a full description of 
the magnificence of these resting-places of the 
dead rulers of Japan. 

As we quit Shiba and move on toward the 
east, near by is a hill called Atago Yama, 
reached by two flights of stone steps, one direct 
and one oblique, one for men and one for 
women, from which is a fine view of all parts 
of the city, the castle walls, the large cemetery, 
the river and the bay, and in the distance peer- 
less Fujiyama, with its crown of snow. The 
native tradition of Fuji is, that in the year 286 
B. C. the earth opened in the province of Omi, 
near Kioto, and Lake Biwa, sixty miles long 
and eighteen broad, was formed as the result, 
in the shape of the Biwa, or four-stringed lute, 
and at the same time Fuji rose as a flaming 
volcano, the last eruption of which was in 1707. 
It is a great mountain, almost perfectly pyra- 
midal in shape, is 12,365 feet high, and may be 
seen a hundred miles at sea. 

27 



422 



China and Japan 




On reaching the top of the flight of steps we 
find a large number of tea -booths, and the 
sprightly waitresses proffer you a cup of tea to 



Uyeno. 423 

refresh you after climbing the steps. The offer 
seems very courteous and kind, but the expecta- 
tion is that you will pay well for the courtesy. 
On the top of the hill is a small Shinto shrine, 
containing a kami, or god, who protects against 
fire. Under a shed to the left are some old pic- 
tures and tablets, and the portrait of a celebrated 
marksman, much honored by soldiers and others 
who wish to become marksmen. Those who 
honor or bow to him usually cast balls of chewed 
paper at his picture. If it sticks it is a good 
omen ; and, indeed, this is a custom prevailing 
in nearly all the temples, and many idols will be 
found well stuck over with these dry spit-balls. 
The natives resort to Atago Yama in great num- 
bers, and, especially at night, thousands assem- 
ble to enjoy the moonlight. 

At Uyeno the tombs are in the northern part 
of the grounds, surrounded by a cut-stone fence, 
and fronted by a gorgeously beautiful shrine. 
The shrine and tombs here are being preserved, 
but the whole place is now being converted into 
a great and beautiful park. The approach to 
Uyeno from the south is through a wide street, 
and within a few hundred feet of the black gate 
at the entrance are three bridges, crossing a 
small stream. The central bridge was the scene 
of the adventure of Sogoro, who hid himself in 



424 China and Japan. 

the timbers of the bridge, and thrust his petition 
into the norimono, or chair of the shogun, as the 
latter was passing over this bridge when return- 
ing from a visit to the tombs of his ancestors. 
The shogun accepted the petition, and the com- 
plaint of Sogoro was read and his grievance re- 
dressed, but himself and wife and three children 
had to suffer death by crucifixion to pay for his 
temerity. It forms one of the most interesting 
and suggestive stories in Japanese history, under 
the name of "the Ghost of Sakura." 

After the breaking out of the civil war in 
1868 a number of the adherents of the shogun 
made a stand at Uyeno, and a battle was fought 
here, July 4, 1869. The mikado's troops con- 
centrated on the three bridges in front of the 
black gate the evening before. The adherents 
of the shogun were strongly posted inside the 
inclosure, on rising ground. The battle lasted 
several hours ; but, by planting two field-pieces 
on the roof of a neighboring tea-house, the mi- 
kado's troops were enabled to force the gates 
and to drive their enemies into the temple, 
which they then set on fire, And thus was de- 
stroyed one of the most magnificent temples of 
Japan. This great temple was founded in 1625. 
A relative of the mikado always resided here, 
and was primate over the east of Japan. 



The Museum. 425 

A temple is here in the inclosure still, very 
beautifully and richly carved and gilded, conse- 
crated to the memory of the founder of the 
Tokugawa line, Iyeyasu, who was a devoted 
Buddhist and a fierce persecutor of the Chris- 
tians. His shrine is now in the hands of Shinto 
priests. In one place you will find, also, a huge 
image of Buddha, twenty-two feet high, made 
of bronze, and filled with clay. Working-men 
were repairing the lips, nose, and arms of the 
dilapidated god. A beautiful avenue is also 
here, with an extensive walk, flanked on each 
side by a row of stone lanterns, and overarched 
by fine old trees. Out of courtesy, also, the 
government has erected a very magnificent new 
bronze monumental urn to the memory of the 
line of Tokugawa shoguns. This is a concilia- 
tory measure towards those who still sigh and 
long for the good old days of old Japan. From 
one point, running close along a high precipice, 
a magnificent view of the whole city is had, from 
north to south. 

In the center of this great park ne -. w .ipan 
comes face to face with the old. Here is a large 
brick building, intended to be a permanent art 
exhibition, in which are pictures and statues 
from Europe and America, and the finest art 
productions of Japan. Here, on the site of the 



426 China and Japan. 

grand old temple, stood last year "the exposi- 
tion building," in which were gathered the pro- 
ducts of nature and art from all parts of Ja- 
pan, and many thousand specimens of foreign 
manufacture. Here is a large two-story foreign 
building and museum, with educational, scien- 
tific, and philosophical materials and apparatus 
used by foreign nations in the work of education. 
On the second floor is a very fine collection 
of natural objects, woods, fruits, animals, flow- 
ers, skeletons, fossils, etc., and a very fine 
library of foreign books, and an open illustrated 
Bible. Scriptural mottoes are hung up on the 
walls. The whole influence of the entire exhibi- 
tion is in favor of Christian civilization, and all 
this is open and free to all the Japanese, and 
visited daily by hundreds. Farewell to old Ja- 
pan and to idolatry when such light breaks upon 
the scene. 

On the left of Uyeno is a large pond covered 
in season with blooming lotus. In the pond 
is an island dedicated to Benten, a Japanese 
goddess. She is the patron of women, of lovers, 
and of the beautiful. The common people be- 
lieve that a dragon lives under the pond, of 
whose doings many wonderful stories are told. 
Just outside the grounds is a "hotel kep in forin 
stile" 



ASAKUSA. 427 

To the north-east of Uyeno is Asakusa, 
which designates a district of the city, but to 
foreigners generally means a famous Buddhist 
temple found there, the most popular in Tokio, 
and, in some respects, the most celebrated in 
Japan. It is dedicated to Kuanon (Chinese, 
Kwanyin), here a female deity, but in other 
places sometimes considered a male deity. 

What a strange mixture of things is found in 
these heathen cities ! In this same region, near 
the temple, are found monasteries and nunneries 
full of vice and sin, the tea and dance houses, 
the Eta quarters, who are the outcasts of Jap- 
anese society, the yoshiwara or prostitutes' quar- 
ters, and the execution grounds ; and here have 
been murders, suicides, revenges, debaucheries, 
etc., enough to curse the whole empire. Many 
of the stories found in the novels and light lite- 
rature of Japan center around this terrible re- 
gion. It is still the most frequented place in 
all Tokio. 

The main hall of the temple is sixty feet 
square. It is approached by a stone-paved avenue 
four hundred yards long, lined on both sides with 
booths for traffic in all sorts of cut ornaments, 
curios, dolls, sweetmeats, cakes, etc. At the end 
of the avenue is a huge gate, guarded on each 
side by a colossal statue, open eyed, rude, and 



428 China and Japan. 

hideous in aspect. In the roof of this gateway 
hundreds of pigeons make their nests. You are 
expected to buy at the booth near by some beans 
to throw to these sacred pigeons, which come 
flocking down by hundreds. Entering the court- 
yard numerous shrines of the gods are seen on 
every hand. To the left, in a neat stall, is seen 
a well kept, cream-colored pony, sacred to the 
goddess. Within the temple are images of the 
gods, lanterns, incense burners, a huge money 
box, and tablets representing the famous gods 
and goddesses, heroes and heroines of the olden 
time. The main altar is richly adorned and 
lighted, but is protected by a screen of iron 
wire. To the right of the altar is a wooden 
image of Binzuru, one of the sixteen original 
disciples of Buddha, rubbed beyond all recogni- 
tion by believers in his power to heal diseases. 
Behind the temple is a broad space called 
Okugama, where maidens offer tea and sweet- 
meats. Here, too, are all sorts of sights to be 
seen, wild beasts, performing monkeys, conjurers, 
acrobats, etc. 

On one side is the famous Ningiyo, or show 
of tableaux. Within it are some horrible repre- 
sentations in life size and moving figures of the 
pains of the Buddhist hell, too horrible to be 
described, and yet the whole scene, after passing 




TEMPLE OF HA CHI. MAN. 



Temple of Hachiman. 431 

around the circle, ends with an amusing moving 
tableau, representing a court noble and the ladies 
of his harem. 

Another very interesting temple in Tokio is 
the temple of Hachiman, the Japanese god of 
war. Many mediaeval heroes and generals of Ja- 
pan resorted hither to worship at this shrine, 
whose chief deity is the son of the famous 
empress, Jugo Kogo, who conquered Corea in 
the second century. Ojin, her son, was deified, 
and is now worshiped under the name of Hachi- 
man. Almost every village in Japan has a temple 
in his honor. Passing under several Tori-i, as 
under an extensive bridge, we come to the tem- 
ple, which is under Shinto control. The white 
paper and mirror, symbols of Shinto, in its 
modern form, attract attention. To the right, on 
a mound, is a primeval hut, the model of Shinto 
architecture. On the right of the temple are 
also several minor shrines, one dedicated to Kobo 
Dai Shi, the inventor of the Japanese alphabet 
or syllabary ; one to Tensho Dai Jin, the famous 
goddess mother of Japan, the divine ancestress 
of the mikados. Behind the main temple are 
still other shrines, and an artificial hill in imita- 
tion of Fujiyama. Further to the left are gar- 
dens, now beginning to be verdant in this early 
Spring. 



432 China and Japan. 

The Temple of Five Hundred Sages, or disci- 
ples of Buddha, is about two miles from Rio- 
goku bridge. Entering the first building the 
visitor sees on the floor, near the main image, a 
representation of the Hichi-men Sama, having 
three eyes, horns in the back, long hair like a 
woman, and hoofs like a horse. The images at 
each corner, in iron cages, are the Japanese gods 
Daikoku and Ebisu. Ebisu, the god of hap- 
piness and daily food, has a fish, the almost daily 
food of the Japanese, under his arm. Daikoku, 
sitting on two bags of rice, has a mallet in his 
hand, which, when he shakes it, sends wealth to 
worshipers. The number of prayers on strips 
of paper tied to the rail, betoken the great 
popularity of these gods, whose images are also 
found in almost all Japanese households. There 
are many dilapidated images of thousand-handed 
Kuanon, and a number of gold-lacquered effigies, 
two-thirds life size of the disciples of Buddha. 
In the second building the objects are of greater 
interest. From the floor of earth rises a colossal 
throne of weather-worn bowlders, volcanic rock 
and masses of lava, on which is a colossal gilt 
image of Buddha in the repose of Nirvana. On 
one side of him appears a representation of an 
elephant, and on the other of a lion. On his 
right stands Kasha, his best disciple, who col- 



Ne w Japan. 433 

lected all the discourses and bright sayings of his 
master, and formed the original Buddhist canon. 
On his left stands Anan, who, gifted with a won- 
derful memory, remembered all that his master 
said and taught. The number of original dis- 
ciples of Buddha was sixteen, but these five 
hundred were later converts, who devoted them- 
selves to the priesthood, and became the mis- 
sionaries who propagated Buddhism through the 
countries east of India. A little inside the 
railing to the left is a dark-colored image of 
Yema, the lord and judge of hell. 

But these things all belong to the Japan that is 
passing away. The future Japan is indicated by 
the exposition of last year, held in the grounds of 
Uyeno ; the grand permanent museum now in the 
beautiful park, a remnant of "the exposition" 
in a yashiki in the city ; the fine modern buildings, 
which would do no discredit to any city of Amer- 
ica; the Tokio Dai Gakku (University of Tokio), 
with fourteen American and English professors, 
and a medical department under eleven German 
professors ; the Gwai Koku Gogakku (foreign lan- 
guage school), with nine professors; the Yei Go- 
gakku (English language school), with four instruc- 
tors ; the Rikugunsho (military school), with its 
naval department under French, and its military 
department under English instruction ; the Kobu 



434 China and Japan 

Dai Gakku (college of engineering), with fifteen 
professors, and its departments of engineering, 
mines, telegraphy, etc. ; the Empress's Normal 
School and Kindergarten, where one hundred 
and twenty little children are fed, clothed, and 
taught, and four hundred bright -looking girls 
are being trained for teachers ; and the chapels, 
churches, and schools of the devoted band of 
missionaries, — these are the things that show 
that the true light has at last risen on the Land 
of the Rising Sun. 

Tokio is a most important missionary center. 
A concession is made for foreign residence, and 
many foreigners, in government employ, are 
living in the heart of the city, and missionaries 
can also do so by employing part of their time 
in teaching. The missionary force at present is 
as follows: American Episcopal, four; Meth- 
odist Episcopal, three ; American Presbyterian, 
eight ; Methodist Church of Canada, two ; En- 
glish Church, one ; Evangelical Association, 
two, — in all, twenty men and nine unmarried 
ladies. Our mission reports one family, Rev. J. 
Soper and wife ; Woman's Foreign Missionary 
Society, two ladies, Misses Schoonmaker and 
Whiting ; preachers on trial, 2 ; exhorter, I ; 
total, 7 ; members, 41 ; probationers, 38 ; total, 
79; baptized children, 8; girls' boarding-school, 



Missions in Tokto. 



435 



40; Sunday-schools, 2; scholars, 100; preaching 
stations, 3; value of missionary property, $10,- 
700. We have a very pleasant parsonage for our 
missionary, a fine home and boarding-school build- 
ing for the girls' school, and a very neat church 
surmounted by a steeple, and a bell on the way 
to occupy it, and three or four chapels in differ- 
ent parts of the city. There are also several 
out -appointments, and the work has radiated 
rapidly into the country from the city. Two 
devoted young ladies have been sent to re- 
enforce the mission by the Woman's Foreign 
Missionary Society since we were there, and the 
numbers given above have been considerably in- 
creased in every department within the present 
year. 




XXIX. 



dl\i c i^tiknity it[ C5f(it(St. 



gT is now certain that in the sixth, seventh, 
and eighth centuries missionaries were suc- 

ji cessively sent to China by the Nestorian 
JL Church in Arminia, and that their efforts 

T toward the conversion of the Chinese were 
attended with considerable success. Christian 
communities were founded in numerous places, 
with ramifications extending throughout the em- 
pire. They appear to have been but little inter- 
fered with until they met with a fierce persecu- 
tion at the hands of the great Mongol conqueror, 
Genghis Khan, from which ,time they rapidly 
dwindled away in numbers, and disappeared 
with the downfall of the Mongol dynasty in 
A. D. 1369. 

During the last century of their residence in 
China the Nestorians were joined by missionaries 
of the Roman Catholic Church. The first Rom- 
ish missionary to settle in China was Jean de 
436 






In the Fourteenth Century. 437 

Corvin. Owing to the jealousy and opposition 
of the Nestorians — who, according to one author- 
ity, cited by M. Hue, numbered about thirty 
thousand — some years elapsed before he suc- 
ceeded in establishing any footing in the coun- 
try. At length, in 1307, he succeeded so far as 
to be appointed archbishop by Pope Clement V, 
who dispatched several other monks to assist 
him in his mission. According to M. Hue, 
Corvin at his death left behind him a flourishing 
Christian community. Forty years later, how- 
ever, no trace of it was left. Dr. Williams is 
of opinion that the Roman Catholic missionaries, 
like the Nestorians, were concentrated chiefly 
around the Mongol court, on which they relied 
for protection, and that they shared the fate of 
their patrons on the overthrow of that dynasty. 
Thus ended the first two attempts at the intro- 
duction of Christianity into this great empire. 

The third, and for a time more successful, 
effort was made in the latter part of the six- 
teenth and through the whole of the seventeenth 
centuries, chiefly by the Jesuit missionaries. 

It is not necessary to enter extensively into 

the history of these early missionary attempts of 

the Jesuits in China. For a few years they met 

with very considerable success, on account of 

their learning and, perhaps, their devout and 

28 



43 8 China and Japan 

faithful lives, and stood high in favor with some 
of the early emperors of the Manchu dynasty. 
They had gained quite a considerable following in 
the capital city, had imparted considerable knowl- 
edge of Western science as it then existed, had 
taught the high officials of China the science of 
astronomy, had perfected their observatory, and 
had introduced among them a system of math- 
ematics. They had also spread considerably 
through the northern and western parts of the 
empire, and had mission stations in many large 
and important cities. They soon, however, be- 
gan to dispute among themselves on certain 
principles of their own work, particularly with 
regard to the term that should be used for the 
Divine Being in preaching and in the books ; 
and especially on the question of the relation of 
the ancestral worship which had existed for ages 
among the Chinese and their own reverence for 
the dead and worship of departed saints. 

These contests brought them into disrepute 
with the emperor and his grandees, and they 
soon began to suspect them of plots and intrigues 
with reference to the government and country, 
especially as in their contests among themselves 
they had on more than one occasion appealed to 
the pope, who had sent back his decisions and 
decrees, requiring their enforcement in China. 






The Jesuits. 439 

This was a new and strange thing for such a 
man as Kang Hi, who was every inch a king, 
and could not appreciate the right of any body 
else to issue decrees to be executed in his em- 
pire. As a result, the Jesuit scholars were ban- 
ished from the court, all foreign associates driven 
from the city, and the natives forbidden to be- 
come Christians. All the foreigners retired from 
China, and nearly all the native followers went 
back from their adherence to the new religion, 
leaving here and there over the empire a few 
scattered fragments, whose descendants nearly 
two hundred years afterward formed good nuclei 
for the reopening of the Roman missions, after 
the treaties of 1844. 

In the last thirty years the Catholics have 
been working vigorously, and have their mis- 
sions in almost all parts of the empire. They 
report themselves to be operating in sixteen of 
the nineteen provinces of China, and also in 
Manchuria and Mongolia. They report two 
hundred and fifty -four European missionaries, 
one hundred and thirty-eight native priests, and 
nearly five hundred thousand members. 

The presence and apparent success of these 
Romish missionaries is not favorable to the real 
Christianization of China. As stated in a pre- 
vious chapter, they are practicing many injustices 



440 China and Japan 

and much oppression in many parts of China. 
Their priests are assuming official rank and pre- 
rogatives. They act in the character of magis- 
trates, deciding disputes between the so-called 
members of their Church and other natives, even 
taking their followers out of the hands of the 
native authorities, and deciding cases of crime 
or debt according to their own judgment or 
prejudice. They even, in some places, assume 
to arrest natives who are not members of their 
Church, but who have committed a crime against 
their members, or fail to pay debts which they 
owe them. Under a very unrighteous clause in 
the French treaty, by which they were to receive 
the lands formerly held by the Jesuits in the 
seventeenth century, they claim large possessions 
of land which they undoubtedly never held, and 
large compensations for grounds which it is im- 
possible for them now to recover. All these 
things tend greatly to increase and intensify in 
the minds of the Chinese, and especially of the 
authorities, what is really the greatest obstacle 
to more liberal foreign intercourse and trade, 
and to more generous treatment of missionaries 
and their work, which is a fear on the part of 
the government that the final object of all for- 
eigners in China is to get possession of their 
government and country. If this fear could be 






Protestant Missions. 441 

removed from the minds of the Chinese, and 
they could be made to feel that there are no 
ulterior plots or schemes looking to the endan- 
gering of their country or the disruption of their 
government, all other obstacles would soon give 
way, and we might have free intercourse in all 
parts of China to live and trade and preach the 
Gospel. 

The Roman Catholic missionaries made no 
effort to give the Chinese a translation of the 
Word of God, and the honor of first attempting 
this great w r ork for the millions of Chinese be- 
longs to Rev. Joshua Marshman, of the English 
Baptist Missionary Society, who in 1799 had 
gone to the East and had made his residence at 
Serampore, where he found a large number of 
Chinese. But the real pioneer of the work in 
China was the Rev. Robert Morrison, a repre- 
sentative of the London Missionary Society, 
who commenced his labors in Canton in 1807. 
He gave twenty -seven years of the most excel- 
lent service, and under the greatest possible dif- 
ficulties. He translated into Chinese the entire 
Bible, translated into English the celebrated Chi- 
nese dictionary of Kang Hi, prepared and printed 
Christian tracts, established schools, and privately 
taught the people, besides serving as interpreter 
in the commercial and diplomatic intercourse 






44-' China and Japan. 

between Western nations and the Chinese, which 
service secured him the right of residence at 
Canton, though through most of his life he was 
forced to live in the Portuguese settlement of 
Macao. In missionary work he at first pursued 
his course in disguise, took his walks by moon- 
light, and taught a few disciples in secret. 

In 1813 he was joined by the Rev. William 
Milne, of the same society, and of similar spirit. 
He also was engaged mainly in the work of mas- 
tering the language and translating parts of the 
Sacred Scriptures. Mr. Milne can scarcely be 
said to have found a home in China, but was 
forced to take up his residence in Malacca. In 
1817 Rev. W. H. Medhurst, of the same society, 
arrived, and, being unable to find solid footing 
in China, made his home in Batavia. Mr. Med- 
hurst lived to the age of sixty, and spent forty 
years in efficient labor in the China mission. 
Several other missionaries of the London Mis- 
sionary Society followed these, most of whom 
gave but a few years of service to the work, and 
none of whom found a home in China. This 
was the only society that sent missionaries to 
this work till 1827, when Rev. Charles Gutslaff, 
of the Netherland Society, arrived, and took up 
his residence at Macao and Hongkong. 

America moved in this great work in 1 830, 






Dr. Willliams. 443 

the American Board sending out in that year 
Rev. C. C. Bridgeman, who went to Canton, 
and in the following year Rev. David Abeel, 
who went to Amoy.' In 1833 Rev. S. W. Wil- 
liams, of the same society, entered China at 
Macao and Canton. Dr. Williams gave forty 
years of most valuable service to the work in 
China. He had the superintendency of the press 
at Canton, printed the Chinese Repository, pub- 
lished several valuable works in Chinese and 
English, to aid the foreign student in learning 
the Chinese language. In 1848 he published, in 
New York, "The Middle Kingdom," a work in 
two volumes of six hundred pages, which is one 
of the most valuable and reliable books of refer- 
ence which has been published on China. He 
was also for many years interpreter and secre- 
tary to the American legation. Full of years 
and honors, he has returned to his native land. 
A son of Dr. Medhurst, the missionary, ren- 
dered a like number of years of service to the 
English government in China ; and when, the 
same year, he had finished his work and re- 
turned to England, he was immediately knighted 
as Sir William Medhurst, and placed on the pay 
roll for a substantial pension. Dr. Williams 
returns after an equal service to his country and 
government, and there is nothing for him but a 



444 China and Japan. 

nominal professorship, without pay, of Oriental 
languages in Yale College ! 

Rev. Peter Parker, M. D., also of the Amer- 
ican Board, arrived in 1834;' and, in addition to 
effective service as a missionary, did good work 
for our country by several times filling the office 
of Charge d' Affaires of the United States of 
America. He retired in 1847, an d is living in 
good age and honors in the city of Washington. 

Up to the war of 1836 about thirty Protestant 
missionaries had endeavored to enter and occupy 
points in China, none of them being able to 
secure permanent and safe residences within the 
empire, but nearly all of them living on the bor- 
ders outside, at Macao, Malacca, Batavia, and the 
islands of the Archipelago. They were able to 
effect scarcely any thing but preparatory labor, in 
acquiring a knowledge of the language, preparing 
books that would be of use to after missionaries, 
translating parts of the Scriptures, and circulat- 
ing some Christian tracts among the people. 
The work, of course, of even these scattered 
missionaries was almost entirely suspended dur- 
ing the period of six or eight years while the 
war was raging, until the treaties were formed in 
1842-4. By these treaties the island of Hong- 
kong was ceded outright to the British Govern- 
ment, and five commercial ports along the coast 



The New Movement. 445 

of Southern China — Canton, Amoy, Foochow, 
Ningpo, and Shanghai — were opened to foreign 
trade and missionary labor. 

Immediately after the opening of these ports 
several of the great missionary societies of Europe 
and America began to move more vigorously in 
entering this great field ; so that by the year 
1850 eighteen great societies were represented in 
Hongkong and the five open ports. And now 
Protestant missionary work, in reality and in ear- 
nest, may be considered to have begun in China. 
Notwithstanding the excellent services that had 
been rendered by the missionaries who had la- 
bored under so great difficulties before the war, 
their services were of but little benefit to the 
new missionaries, who had come and had dis- 
tributed themselves in the different ports. Each 
little company in each city had to begin its 
pioneer work almost de novo. The dialects were 
different in each city, and the language had to 
be learned anew, the books of the earlier mis- 
sionaries being of but little value in these new 
centers of operations. Five years is not too 
long a time to give to this preparatory w T ork and 
to the readiness of the new missionaries to begin 
actual work among the people. It would not 
be far from historically correct to say that actual 
missionary labor among the Chinese in China, in 






446 China and Japan. 

the various ports, began about 1850, and all the 
great results which have been achieved in that 
country may not very improperly be consid- 
ered the results of twenty-five years of actual 
missionary work. 

During that twenty-five years the open ports 
have been increased from five to sixteen, extend- 
ing along the whole coast of China from Canton 
to Peking, and a thousand miles up the great 
Yang - tsze - kiang ; and the places where mis- 
sionaries actually reside have increased in that 
time from six to ninety-one, and in addition to 
these places of residence there are five hundred 
and eleven " out-stations" where the Gospel is 
preached. The little company of about thirty 
missionaries in 1850 has grown to four hundred 
and seventy-three, and the eleven missionary 
societies operating in 1850 have become thirty in 
1877. Of these, eleven societies are American, 
thirteen British, three Continental, and three are 
Bible societies. The missionary force is now 
three hundred and forty-four married mission- 
aries, sixty-six single males, sixty-three single 
females, a total of four hundred and seventy- 
three. Of these, two hundred and nine are 
American, two hundred and twenty-two British, 
thirty-three Continental, and eight representatives 
of the Bible societies. There are nine English 



Statistics. 



447 



and ten American physicians, three of the latter 
being ladies. There has been an increase within 
the last ten years of five societies, thirty-five 
stations, one hundred and fifteen missionaries, 
and more than one hundred and fifty out-stations. 
But my readers will be glad to have these 
and other interesting items in tabular form: 



PROTESTANT MISSIONS. 



Stations, 

Out-stations, 

Organized Churches, . 
Self-sustaining " 
Partly self- sustaining, 



91 

312 
18 

243 
13.035 



Scholars, . . . 
School teachers, 
Colporteurs, . . 
Ordained native pre; 
Assistant " 

Bible women, . . 
Church buildings, 
Chapels, .... 
Hospitals, . . . 
Patients, .... 
Out-door patients, 
Dispensaries, . . 
Applicants, . . . 
Money raised, . . 



2,605 
290 

76 

achers, 73 

5ii 

' 90 

243 

437 

16 

3.780 

87,505 

24 

44,281 

#9,271 



Communicants, 

INI ales, 

Females, ..... 4,967 

Boys' schools, .... 407 

Pupils, 3,602 

Girls' schools, .... 120 

Pupils, 2,084 

Theological schools, . 2C 

Students, 231 

Sunday-schools, ... 1 15 

These figures represent in China a Christian 
community of at least fifty thousand souls. 

It will not be inappropriate to present to the 
reader here an epitomized history of Methodist 
missions in China. The Methodist Episcopal 
Church was the first branch of Methodism to 
enter this country. This she did in 1847, our 
first missionaries reaching their destination in 
September of that year. They have been suc- 
ceeded by a goodly band of missionaries during 



443 China and Japan. 

the thirty-one years that have passed since then, 
and God has wonderfully blessed them in their 
labors. Our present missionary force at Foo- 
chow consists of five families and three ladies 
of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, one 
of whom is a -physician who is conducting a 
very successful hospital. The girls' boarding- 
school has a fine large building, and consists 
of thirty-one girls, some of whom are foundlings, 
though but few of this class are now received. 
The school has done a good work, and several 
of the girls, on reaching womanhood, have be- 
come wives of our native preachers. Another 
fine large building contains the printing and book 
establishment, the theological school of about 
twenty young men, and a high school of twelve 
smaller boys, some of them sons of our preach- 
ers. On the 19th of December, 1877, our mis- 
sion work in Fuhkien was organized into the 
first Annual Conference in China, consisting 
of fifteen native members, fifteen native proba- 
tioners, and the five foreign missionaries. In 
addition to these thirty native preachers in the 
conference, there are also sixty native preachers, 
about forty of whom are regularly appointed to 
the work. The work is divided into six presid- 
ing elders' districts with about fifty circuits. 
These circuits will fully average four appointments 



Methodist Missions. 449 

each, making at least two hundred preaching 
places. 

Our next mission is at Peking, commenced in 
1869. We have here five missionary families 
and three ladies of the Woman's Foreign Mis- 
sionary Society, one of whom is a physician. 
The work of this mission has three centers, the 
Tartar City, the Chinese City, and Tientsin. 
There are four native preachers, two ordained 
deacons, four local preachers, one exhorter, fifty- 
five members, eighty-seven probationers, four- 
teen baptized children, three Sabbath-schools, 
one hundred and eighteen scholars. The work is 
divided into seven circuits, and extends many 
miles north and south of Peking embracing 
about thirty-five preaching places. 

Our third mission centers at Kiukiang, on 
the great river, and was opened in 1868. We 
have here two missionary families, three single 
men and two ladies of the Woman's Foreign Mis- 
sionary Society. There are two native preach- 
ers, one Bible woman, five teachers, thirty-five 
members, thirty-two probationers, eleven bap- 
tized children, girls' school forty, boys' school 
thirty-five, Sunday-school eighty. 

In 185 1 Rev. George Piercy entered Canton, 
and opened the way for the English Wesleyans 
to enter China. They now occupy Canton, 



450 China and Japan 

Wuchang, and Hankow as centers, and have 
twenty-nine missionaries and four single ladies 
operating in these places. They have six chapels, 
ten preaching places, seven native preachers, 
eleven school teachers, three hundred and one 
members, sixty-eight probationers, fifteen schools, 
five hundred and nineteen scholars. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church South occu- 
pies Shanghai as its center. The work is divided 
into five districts — Shanghai, Naziang, Kading, 
Soochow, and Chingpoo. They have four mis- 
sionary families, eight native preachers, one hun- 
dred and twelve members, two boarding-schools, 
thirty-two pupils, seven day schools, with ninety- 
five pupils, five Sunday-schools, one hundred 
and sixty-one scholars, three Bible women, and 
fourteeen preaching places. 

The Methodist new connection of England 
have a very flourishing mission at Tientsin, and 
are rapidly extending their w r ork southward into 
the provinces of Shantung and Shansi. They 
have a fine property in Tientsin, an excellent 
building for the school and theological institute. 
Their missionary force is four families and fifteen 
native preachers. They have ten out-stations, 
eleven organized Churches, four hundred and 
twenty-nine members, seven day schools, one 
hundred pupils, two theological schools, twenty- 



Tabular View, 451 

four students, seven Sunday-schools, one hundred 
and ten scholars, and twenty-five chapels. 

The United Methodist Free Church of Eng- 
land is located at Ningpo. They have one 
missionary family and two single men. They 
have six out-stations, one hundred and fifty- 
one members, four schools, forty-nine pupils, 
and eight native preachers. 

The reader will be pleased to see these fig- 
ures of Methodism in China tabulated : 

M. E. C. M. E. C. S. BRIT. M. TOTAL. 

Stations, 4 2 8 14 

Out-stations, 83 4 22 109 

Organized Churches, 76 4 23 103 

Members, 1,346 1 12 861 2,319 

Probationers, 604 62 250 1,016 

Schools, 3$ 9 24 71 

Pupils, 59S 127 561 1,288 

Theological schools, 2 ... 2 4 

Students, 20 3 28 51 

Sunday-schools, 57 5 16 78 

Scholars, 914 161 400 1,375 

Ordained preachers, 19 4 2 25 

Assistant preachers, 78 2 33 113 

Bible women, 13 3 5 21 

Church buildings, 25 5 13 43 

Chapels, 66 9 29 114 

Hospitals, 2 ... I 3 

Indoor patients, 23 ... ... 23 

Outdoor patients, 604 ... ... 604 

Dispensaries, 2 I ... 3 

Patients, 681 .. . . 681 

Missionaries, 24 4 29 ^7 

Wives, 12 4 14 30 



XXX. 



dt|ri$tikiiity iq Japan . 



|N a work so small as this it is impossible to 
give more than the barest outlines of the 
attempt on the part of the Jesuits to intro- 
duce Christianity into Japan in the sixteenth 
[^ century. For most of the facts which are 
contained in the brief history which follows, 
we are indebted to a very admirable paper on 
this subject, read by John H. Gubbins, Esq., 
before the Asiatic Society of Japan, in October, 
1877, and published in the Japan Mail in No- 
vember of the same year. 

It is to Portuguese enterprise that Chris- 
tianity owes its introduction into Japan in the 
sixteenth century. As early as 1542 Portuguese 
trading vessels began to visit Japan, where they 
exchanged western commodities for the then little 
known products of the Japanese islands ; and 
seven years afterwards three Portuguese mission- 
aries, the famous Saint Francis Xavier, Torres, 
452 



The Portuguese. 453 

and Fernandez, took passage in one of these 
merchant ships, and landed at Kagoshima, in 
the province of Satsuma, in the southern island 
of Japan, Kiushiu. The leading spirit of the 
three was, of course, Xavier, who had already 
acquired much reputation by his missionary la- 
bors in India. After a short residence the mis- 
sionaries were forced to leave Satsuma, and after 
a short stay in the island of Hirado, which was 
a rendezvous of trade between the Portuguese 
merchants and the Japanese, they crossed over 
to the Triain island, and settled down in Yama- 
guchi in Nagato, the chief town of the terri- 
tories of the prince of Choshiu. After a visit to 
the capital, which was productive of no result, 
owing to the disturbed state of the country, 
Xavier left Japan with the intention of founding 
a Jesuit mission in China, but died on his way, 
in the island of Sancian. 

In 1553 fresh missionaries arrived, some of 
whom remained in the island of Bungo, where 
Xavier had made a favorable impression, while 
others joined their fellow missionaries in Yama- 
guchi. After having been driven from the latter 
place by the outbreak of disturbances, and hav- 
ing failed to establish a footing in Hizcn, we 
find the missionaries in 1567 collected in Bungo, 

and this province appears to have been their 

29 



454 China and Japan. 

headquarters from that time. In the course of 
the next year Vilela, the chief of the mission, 
made a visit to Kioto, Sakai, and other places, 
in the course of which he is said to have gained 
a convert in the person of the daimio of the 
small principality of Omura, who displayed an 
imprudent excess of religious zeal in the de- 
struction of idols and other extreme measures, 
which could only tend to provoke the hostility 
of the Buddhist priesthood. The conversion 
of this prince was followed by that of Ari- 
ma-no-kami. 

Other missionaries arrived in 1560, and the 
circle of operations was extended, but shortly 
afterward a revolution headed by Mori com- 
pelled Vilela to leave Kioto, where he had set- 
tled, and a simultaneous outbreak in Omura 
necessitated the withdrawal of the missionaries 
stationed there. Mori of Choshiu was, perhaps, 
the most powerful noble of his day, possessing 
no fewer than ten provinces, and as he was 
throughout an open enemy to Christianity, his 
influence was cast against it with much ill result. 
On Vilela's return to Kioto from Sakai, where a 
branch mission had been established, he suc- 
ceeded in gaining several distinguished converts. 
Among these were Takayama, a leading general 
of the day, and his nephew. He did not, 



A Century of Strife. 455 

however, remain long in the capital. The re- 
currence of troubles in 1568 made it necessary 
for him to withdraw, and he then proceeded 
to Nagasaki, where he met with considerable 
success. In this same year w r e come across 
Valegnani preaching in the Goto Isles, and 
Torres in the island of Seki, where he died. 
Almeida about this time founded a Christian 
community at Shimabara, afterward notorious as 
the scene of the revolt and massacre of the 
Christians. 

It was, perhaps, unfortunate that this attempt 
at the introduction of Christianity into Japan 
happened during one of the most disturbed and 
unsettled periods of Japanese history. Through 
all this century a series of contests was waged 
between contending generals, successively aiming 
at the shogunate, or supreme administration. 
Takayama, Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Iyeyasu 
were successive generals, each with his intrigues 
and battles and boundless ambition, until the 
struggles of a hundred years ,ended in peace 
under the triumph of Iyeyasu. These generals 
successively played with the Christians, their 
whole course toward them being determined al- 
most solely by political considerations. Taka- 
yama, hated by the Buddhists, saw a strong arm 
of assistance in the Christians, among whom 



45 6 China and Japan. 

were some powerful nobles numbered as con- 
verts. Nobunaga, his successor, saw a great ad- 
vantage in using the same arm of assistance, and 
Hideyoshi played off and on with the Christian 
princes and their followers, as the changing ne- 
cessities of the contest seemed to require. 

As early as 1570 the Prince of Bungo made 
open profession of Christianity, and retired into 
private life, and thousands of the subjects of 
Arima-no-kami followed him in accepting the 
new religion. Soon after this, however, the 
Christian interests sustained a great loss in the 
disgrace of Takayama, who was banished to 
Kaga for taking part in an unsuccessful in- 
trigue against Nobunaga which was headed by 
the Prince of Choshiu. Takayama's nephew, 
Ukon, however, declared for Nobunaga, and 
the latter gave a further proof of his friendly 
feeling toward Christianity by establishing a 
Church in Adzuchi-no-shiro, the castle town 
which he had built for himself in his native 
province of Omi. In 1582 a mission was sent 
to the papal see, on the part of the princes of 
Bungo and Omura and Arima-no-kami. This 
mission was accompanied by Valegnani, and 
reached Rome in 1585, returning five years later 
to Japan. In the following year Nobunaga died; 
and Hideyoshi, who succeeded him in the chief 



Duplicity, 457 

power, was content for the first three or four 
years of his administration to follow in the line 
of policy marked out by his predecessor. Chris- 
tianity, therefore, progressed in spite of the fre- 
quent feuds between the southern daimios, and 
seminaries were established, under Hideyoshi's 
auspices, at Ozaka and Sakai. During this pe- 
riod Martinez arrived in the capacity of bishop. 
Hideyoshi's attitude toward Christianity at 
this time is easily explained. The powerful 
southern barons were not willing to accept him 
as Nobunaga's successor without a struggle, and 
there were other reasons against adopting too 
hasty measures. Two of his generals, Kondera 
and Konishi, the governor of Ozaka, and numer- 
ous other officers of state and nobles of rank 
and influence, had embraced Christianity, and 
the Christians had, therefore, among them influ- 
ential supporters. Hideyoshi's first need was 
to secure his position. For this purpose he 
marched into Kiushiu at the head of a large 
force, and was every -where victorious. This 
done, he threw off the mask he had been wear- 
ing up to this time, and in 1587 took his first 
step in his new course of action by ordering the 
destruction of the Christian church at Kioto and 
the expulsion of the missionaries from the 
capita). 



453 China and Japan 

The Jesuit writers attribute the sudden change 
of Hideyoshi's attitude to several different causes ; 
but it is simply clear that Hideyoshi was unfa- 
vorable to Christianity, and that he only waited 
for his power to be secure before taking decided 
measures of hostility. Even before his accession 
to power he had ventured to remonstrate with 
Nobunaga for his policy toward the Christians. 
Hideyoshi's next act was to banish Takayama 
Ukon to Kaga, where his uncle already was ; 
and he then, in 1588, issued a decree ordering 
the missionaries to assemble at Hirado and pre- 
pare to leave Japan. They did so ; but, finding 
that measures were not pressed to an extremity, 
they dispersed, and placed themselves under the 
protection of various nobles who had embraced 
Christianity. The territory of these princes of- 
fered safe asylums, and in these scattered districts 
the work of Christianity progressed secretly, 
while openly interdicted. In 1593, in conse- 
quence of an indiscreet statement of the pilot of 
a Spanish vessel, which, being driven by stress 
of weather into the port of Tosa, was seized by 
Hideyoshi, nine missionaries were arrested in 
Kioto and Ozaka, and, having been taken to 
Nagasaki, were there burned. This was the first 
execution carried out by the government. 

Hideyoshi died the following year, 1594, and 



Beginning of Persecution 459 

the civil troubles which preceded the succession 
of Iyeyasu to the shogunate, in which the Chris- 
tians lost their principal supporter, Konishi, who 
took part against Iyeyasu, favored Christianity 
in so far as it diverted attention from it to mat- 
ters of more pressing moment. Iyeyasu's policy 
toward Christianity was a repetition of that of 
his predecessors ; but it is known that in reality 
he was an intense Buddhist, and secretly a hater 
of the Christians. Occupied entirely by military 
campaigns against those who refused to acknowl- 
edge his supremacy, he permitted the Jesuits, 
who now numbered one hundred, to establish 
themselves in force at Kioto, Ozaka, and Naga- 
saki ; but as soon as tranquillity was restored, 
and he felt himself secure in the seat of power, 
he at once gave proof of the policy which he 
intended to follow, hy issuing a decree of expul- 
sion against the missionaries. This was in 1600. 
The year 1610 is remarkable for the arrival 
of the Dutch, who settled in Hirado, and for the 
destruction in the harbor of Nagasaki of the 
only Portuguese ship sent annually by the traders 
of Macao. In this latter affair, which arose out 
of a dispute between the natives and the people 
of the ship, Arima-no-kami was concerned, 
and his alliance with the missionaries was thus 
terminated. 



460 China and Japan. 

In 161 3 Christianity was finally proscribed by 
Iyeyasu. The decree of expulsion directed 
agaainst the missionaries was followed by a fierce 
outbreak of persecution in all the provinces in 
which Christians were to be found, which was 
conducted with systematic and relentless sever- 
ity. That this edict of expulsion was the effect 
of no sudden caprice on the part of Iyeyasu, is 
clear from the general view we have of his whole 
policy, which was similar to that of his prede- 
cessors, and from the evidence which his life and 
subsequent acts gave of his intense devotion to 
Buddhism. His early tolerance of Christianity 
was a mere temporary policy. His mind was 
evidently made up, and he was only biding 
his time. 

As regards the condition of Christianity at 
this time, the Jesuit accounts supply us with 
facts which show that, numerically speaking, the 
Christian cause was never so flourishing as at 
this period. There were some two millions of 
converts, whose spiritual concerns were adminis- 
tered by no fewer than two hundred foreign 
missionaries, three-fourths of whom were Jesuits. 
There were Christian Churches in every province 
of Kiushiu except Hiuga and Osumi, and also 
at Kioto, Ozaka, Sendai, Kanagawa, Kaga, and 
it was only in eight provinces of Japan that 



The Missionaries Expelled. 461 

Christianity had gained no footing. But strong 
as the Christians were numerically, we must 
not judge of the strength of their cause merely 
by the number of their converts or the number 
of missionaries resident in Japan. If we con- 
sider the facts before us, we find that Chris- 
tianity in these trying times lacked the most 
important of all earthly strength, influence in the 
state. All its principal supporters among the 
aristocracy were either dead or had renounced 
their faith or were in exile ; and here we have 
the real weakness, politically speaking, of the 
Christian cause. While, therefore, circumstances 
combined to draw attention to its progress, it 
was in a state that could ill resist any renewed 
activity of persecution which might be the result 
of the increased interest which it excited. With- 
out influence in the country, except what slight 
influence the mass of common people scattered 
throughout the country in the various provinces 
who were Christians might be said to pos- 
sess, Christianity presented itself assailable with 
impunity. 

In 16 14 the edict was carried into effect, and 
the missionaries, acccompanied by the Japanese 
princes who had been in exile in Kaga, and a 
number of the native Christians were made to 
embark from Nagasaki. Several missionaries re- 



462 China and Japan. 

mained concealed in the country, and in subse- 
quent years not a few contrived to elude the 
vigilance of the authorities and re-entered Japan ; 
but they were all detected sooner or later, and 
suffered for their temerity by their deaths. Per- 
secution did not stop at the expulsion of the 
missionaries, nor at the death of Iyeyasu was 
any respite given to the native Christians ; and 
this brings us to the closing scene in this his- 
tory, the tragedy of Shimabara. 

In 1637, the peasantry of a Christian district 
in Hizen, driven past endurance by the ferocity 
of the persecution, assembled to the number 
of thirty thousand, and fortifying the castle of 
Shimabara, declared open defiance to the gov- 
ernment. Their position was soon overborne, 
troops were sent against them, and after a short 
but desperate resistance, all the Christians were 
put to the sword. With the rising at Shimabara, 
and its terrible suppression by the government, 
the curtain, dripping with blood, drops on the 
early history of Christianity in Japan. 

In a little more than two hundred years it 
rises again on what, we trust, will be a more 
glorious history. Immediately after the trea- 
ties of 1854 the interest of the Protestant mis- 
sionary societies turned toward Japan, and as 
soon as practicable Protestant missionaries were 



Protestant Missions. 463 

sent into this newly opened field. In 1859 the 
Protestant Episcopal, the American Reformed, 
and the Presbyterian missionary societies sent 
their representatives, who were rapidly followed 
by others ; so that now nearly all prominent mis- 
sionary societies of Europe and America are 
operating in different parts of the country. It is 
impossible here to give even a faint idea of the 
marvelous changes that have taken place in 
Japan in the twenty years that have thus passed. 
A nation seems to have been born in a day. 

The missionaries of Japan are distributed and 
are operating in the following places : The Amer- 
ican Reformed Church is at Yokohama, with five 
missionaries, and at Nagasaki, with one; the 
American Board, at Yokohama, Kobe, Ozaka, 
and Kioto, with twenty-four male and female mis- 
sionaries ; the American Episcopal, at Tokio and 
Ozaka, with eight missionaries and one bishop ; 
the Methodist Episcopal, at Yokohama, Hako- 
date, Nagasaki, and Hirosaki, with nine missiona- 
ries; the American Presbyterian, at Yokohama 
and Tokio, with thirteen missionaries ; the Amer- 
ican Baptist, at Yokohama, with three missiona- 
ries ; the American Woman's Union Mission, at 
Yokohama, with seven ladies ; the Methodist 
Church of Canada, at Tokio, with four missiona- 
ries ; the English Church Mission, at Tokio, 



464 China and Japan 

Ozaka, Nagasaki, Hakodate, and Niigata, with 
nine missionaries ; the Evangelical Association of 
America, at Tokio and Ozaka, with three mission- 
aries ; the Scotch Presbyterians, at Tokio, with 
five missionaries. The Roman Catholics are at 
Tokio, Yokohama, Hakodate, Niigata, Ozaka, 
Kobe, and Nagasaki, with three bishops, thirty- 
three priests, and twelve sisters of charity — all 
are French. The Russian Greek Church has six 
missionaries. We thus have Protestant mission- 
aries, males sixty and unmarried ladies thirty-one, 
distributed as follows: At Tokio, twenty fami- 
lies and nine single ladies; Yokohama, twelve 
families and ten ladies ; Kobe, three families and 
five ladies ; Ozaka, eleven families and four la- 
dies ; Kioto, four families and three ladies ; at 
Nagasaki, four families ; Hakodate, four fami- 
lies ; and at Hirosaki, two families. All these 
societies have out-stations and circuits radiat- 
ing from the centers in which the missions are 
located. 

The Methodist Episcopal Mission was author- 
ized in 1872, and Rev. R. S. Maclay, D. D., 
who for more than twenty years had been super- 
intendent of our first mission in China, was 
appointed to the work of opening our mission in 
Japan. In having such a leader, having such 
experience, we were greatly blessed. With him 



Methodist Missions. 465 

were appointed Revs. J. C. Davison, Julius So- 
per, and M. C. Harris. Dr. Maclay and family 
arrived in Yokohama in June, 1873, and two 
months later Bishop Harris, accompanied by 
Rev. Irwin H. Correll and wife, who had been 
appointed to Foochow, China, were retained in 
Japan. In August Messrs. Soper and Davison 
and their wives arrived. During the month, 
Bishop Harris had been studying Japan, and on 
the arrival of the last missionaries, August 8, 
1873, a mission meeting was held, and wisely 
and providentially it was determined to dis- 
tribute our men, rather than to concentrate all 
our force in one place ; and yet we can only say 
" wisely determined" to do so, on the supposi- 
tion that the Church will vigorously support her 
missions in these different stations. It is, cer- 
tainly, not wise to attempt to carry on a mission 
in any place with only one family, except as a 
temporary arrangement till re-enforcements can 
be sent. Of course, every body in 1873 supposed 
that these re-enforcements would soon come ; 
but six years have passed and they have not 
come yet. The missionary society, however, 
has authorized the sending of four additional 
families during the present year. 

Our men were distributed as follows : Dr. 
* Maclay superintendent, and I. H. Correll at Yo- 



466 China and Japan. 

kohama; Julius Soper at Tokio; M. C. Harris 
at Hakodate ; and J. C. Davison at Nagasaki. 
Providence sent us Rev. John Ing, from China, 
for the wonderful work opened in Hirosaki. 
Rev. W. C. Davisson, in 1877, succeeded Mr. 
Ing during his absence. This is our missionary 
force in Japan. 

The Woman's Foreign Missionary Society 
entered the field in 1874; and Miss Dora E. 
Schoonmaker arrived in October of that year, 
and was stationed at Ozaka. She has been a 
very efficient and perhaps too laborious worker, 
and has succeeded in establishing an excellent 
school in Tokio, and has now two Bible women 
at work. In September, 1876, she was strength- 
ened in her work by the arrival of Miss Olive 
Whiting. The Woman's Foreign Missionary 
Society has sent out four additional missiona- 
ries — two to Tokio, one to Yokohama, and one 
to Hakodate. 

In addition to the centers of missionary oper- 
ations which I have mentioned, the Methodist 
Episcopal Church has out -stations at Nishiwo, 
Hachoji, Matsumoto, Ajiki, Nagoya, Hama- 
matsu and Sapporo. The membership of the 
Church is over two hundred, and there are about 
an equal number of probationers. 

The missionaries of Japan are a body of 



The Field in Japan. 467 

scholarly and cultured gentlemen and ladies. 
They have already accomplished a great work 
for Japan. They have translated portions of the 
Bible. They have produced a large number of 
religious books. They have made the standard 
dictionaries of the language. They have orig- 
inated a Christian popular literature and hymnol- 
ogy. They have organized Christian Churches, 
introduced theological seminaries, and are the 
real originators of the girls' schools in Japan. 
In 1870 there were not ten Protestant Christians 
in the empire. There are now more than a score 
of Churches, with a membership of more than 
fifteen hundred. 

Gently, but surely, Christianity is leavening 
the nation. The only limit that I can see to the 
extent of most hopeful and promising mission- 
ary labor in Japaii 4 is the will and ability of the 
Church at home. The great, pressing, immedi- 
ate need is, re -enforcement of all the missions. 
It seems to me that God is really trying the zeal 
and faith of American Christians by opening up 
at their very door this beautiful Land of the 
Rising Sun, with its thirty-five millions of people 
all at once breaking away from centuries of bar- 
barism and semi -civilization, and reaching out 
their hands imploringly for light, and truth, and 
knowledge, and art, and science. 



XXXI. 



Hsfe- 



i^eligioi^ of Jkpkq. 



^HE study of the religions of Japan is in- 
tensely interesting, but exceedingly diffi- 
cult. The two principal religions of the 
country are Shintoism and Buddhism, and 
besides these Confucianism has been rap- 
idly gaining ground of late years. As we 
shall treat more fully of Buddhism in another 
article, it will only be necessary in this one to 
give a brief history of its introduction into Japan. 
The original and native feligion of Japan is 
Shintoism, a term derived from two Chinese 
words, Shin, gods, and To, road (the way of the 
gods). Its Japanese equivalent is Kami-no-michi, 
about equal in meaning to our term theology. 
We can do no more than give a bare outline of 
it, for most of the facts in which we are indebted 
to Mr. C. Pfoundes, a resident of Tokio, and a 
liberal contributor to the Japan Mail. 

The Shinto idea of creation is, that out of 
468 



Cosmogony. 469 

chaos, the earth was the sediment precipitated, 
and the heavens, the ethereal essence that as- 
cended. Their cosmogony is very similar to 
that of China, and undoubtedly many principles 
of Chinese philosophy have quietly insinuated 
themselves among the old traditions of Japan. 
Chaos, like an egg or embryo, was the normal 
condition of all things before the separation of 
the two principles, In (Chinese, Yin), the female 
principle, and Yo (Chinese, Yang), the male 
principle. The ethereal ascended, and became 
the heavens ; the sediment was precipitated, and 
became the earth, from which sprang a young 
shoot of a tree. This shoot grew until it became 
the first of the Kami, now called Kuni-toko- 
tachi, the first being of the country, followed by 
the appearance of Toyokunu and Kuni-sazu-chi, 
who represented the first fruits of the earth after 
chaos. Then successively appeared a number 
of gods representing different departments of 
life and activity. 

Up to this period the male principle, Yo, 
being paramount, the sexes had not appeared. 
The five elements, wood, fire, metal, earth, and 
water, were now divided, and in due order ful- 
filled their respective uses. The Kami, with one 
exception, are historical persons who have been 
deified and are worshiped, and petitions arc 



47° 



China and Japan. 




JIMMU TENNO. 



offered to them. At length the human race 
appeared, male and female, under the name of 



The First of the Gods. 471 

Isanagi and Isanami, who begot Tenshoko - dai * 
jin, the first of the five gods of the earth, and 
who is really the great sun -goddess of Japan, 
and the mother of the line of emperors or mi- 
kados. From her, by divine descent, came 
Jimmu Tenno, the first mikado, B. C. 660, and 
from the date of his accession the Japanese era 
commences, two thousand five hundred and 
thirty-eight years ago. The present mikado is 
the one hundred and twenty-third of the direct 
line. 

Isanagi and Isanami constituted the first cou- 
ple. The names are derived from the meaning 
of the first words spoken upon the earth. They 
stood on the celestial bridge which spans the 
ethereal vault. The thought arose that there 
might be substance beneath the face of the un- 
stable waters; and Isanagi plunged his mighty 
spear into the watery depths, and the drops 
which trickled from it, when withdrawn, formed 
the dry land. To this they both betook them- 
selves, designing to make it the pillar of the 
future continent, and started to make the circuit 
of it, the woman turning to the right and the 
man to the left. They met at the other side, 
when the woman spoke the first words ever ut- 
tered upon earth, "O joy, to meet a lovely 
man !" but the man was displeased that the 



47 2 China and Japan. 

woman spoke first, and insisted that the journey 
around the island should be repeated; and when 
they again met the man said, "O joy, to meet 
a lovely woman!" Thus was the creation of 
man perfected, and the island grew into the 
great Nipon. 

The woman, Isanami, conceived and brought 
forth a female child, either as a punishment for 
having spoken first, or because the female prin- 
ciple, In, was more powerful. The man was 
greatly displeased that a son was not born. This 
female child became the famous Tenshoko-dai- 
jin, which to the ancient Japanese mind un- 
doubtedly represented the sun. Isanami brought 
forth a second female child, called Tsuki-yomi, 
the goddess of the moon, undoubtedly repre- 
senting the moon itself; and again a third child, 
a male, named Hiro-ko. At the age of three, 
being still unable to walk, his parents made for 
him a boat of the camphor-tree, in which he was 
sent adrift, and became the first fisherman. He 
is called Yebisu, and is greatly worshiped in 
Japan. 

A fourth child was born to them, Sosano, a 
goodly shaped boy, who was doubly welcome 
after the former female children and the cripple, 
and their hopes rested on their last born to pop- 
ulate the country. But, like many other parents, 



Births of the Gods. 473 

they were fated to disappointment, as the boy 
proved a reckless, unruly fellow, perpetually get- 
ting into difficulties, and the older he grew the 
worse he became, and they were compelled to 
condemn him to banishment. He returned, 
however, and continued his wild career, and so 
tormented his famous sister, Tenshoko, that she 
finally retired and hid in a cave, and left the 
earth in darkness, until by a wonderful series of 
maneuvers and performances before the cavern 
in which she was hid away, all of which are 
minutely related in the Japanese books, she was 
finally enticed back again into the visible world, 
and gladdened all hearts with the presence of 
her beauty and light. 

Isanami brought forth a fifth child, a male, 
called Hinokamikaku-tsuchi, god of fire, and on 
that day she was consumed by fire herself. In 
the agonies of death she brought forth Tsuchi- 
no-kami, the goddess of the earth and hills, also 
Midzuhanome, the goddess of water. Kako- 
tsuchi took Hani-yama to wife, and in due time 
she bore him Wakamusubi, the first produce of 
man and earth, on whose head grew the mul- 
berry and silk -worm, and from whose navel 
sprang the five cereals — rice, wheat, beans, 
millet, and sorghum. 

Isanami's tomb is in Arima-no-mura, in the 






474 China and Japan. 

province of Kishiu, and when blossoms appear 
on the trees flowers are taken to the tomb. 

From these old legends, mingling with them 
the history of subsequent human heroes, and, 
intermixed with these, many Buddhist thoughts 
and ceremonies, come Shintoism and the priest- 
hood, the national or established religion of 
Japan. The kami, or gods, number many thou- 
sands, of which more than three thousand are 
known to have shrines in the empire. To the 
more celebrated of these kami temples have 
been erected throughout the empire. Those to 
Inari, the god of husbandry, for instance, may be 
found in every town and district, and in every 
land-owner's residence, noble and peasant. Each 
province has its great temple, and each district, 
and sometimes each hamlet, may have one or 
more local kami. They are worshiped by peti- 
tions offered up at the Miya, or shrine, by 
thanksgiving for favors granted, and by songs of 
praise. Each kami has an annual festival, and 
many have particular days in each month, in 
which it is usual to visit the Miya, besides which 
visitors visit the shrines at all times, but rarely 
after sundown. The ceremonies and observances 
are most minute, and vary for each kami. 
Drums are beaten on festive occasions, and at 
some temples the devotee calls the attention of 




INTERIOR OF SHINTO TEMPLE. 



Shinto Worship. 477 

the kami by shaking a thin metal globe sus- 
pended above him, containing several pellets, 
which rattle when so shaken. All Miyas have a 
mirror on the altar as an emblem of purity. It 
is said that the word kami, the modern name for 
the gods, is derived from kagami, a mirror, omit- 
ting the repetition of the first syllable. 

All Miyas have one or more tori-i, which are 
usually offerings made by devotees, or petition- 
ers in thanksgiving. He who approaches the 
Miya must pass under the tori-i, and the Haiden 
or place of prayer is reached, at the rear of 
which is another building, the true Miya. With 
few variations, the same style of architecture 
prevails throughout the empire. The Go-hei, 
made of paper cut in a peculiar form, inserted in 
the split end of a piece of bamboo, is an emblem 
of purity, and is inclosed in a box, thus forming 
the shintai, which is placed in the innermost 
shrine. The offerings are generally made in 
beautiful vases, with paper inserted in them, and 
consist of cleaned rice in unglazed pottery, cakes 
of boiled and pounded rice, and, on special occa- 
sions, rice boiled with small red beans, fruit and 
vegetables of all kinds in season, and fish of 
several kinds throughout the year. 

Tenshoko is the first and principal of the 
kami, and the only one of whom there is no 



47 8 China and Japan. 

historical record of life on this earth. This god- 
dess is highly venerated as the ancestress of 
Jimmu, and therefore of the imperial family. Her 
principal temples are in Ise. There are shrines 
throughout the empire, but there is no regular 
distribution of them, all depending on the local 
popular fancy. Formerly every household pro- 
cured a shintai, consisting of a small box of paper 
and wooden frame-work, containing paper cut and 
stuck in a slip of bamboo, every year from Ise. 
There is an annual festival, but the number of 
pilgrims is greatest in the Spring. All devout 
men and women are supposed to go at least once, 
and pilgrims from the remotest corners of the 
empire resort thither and receive the shintai to 
take home. 

Inari is the god of the produce of the soil, 
and his shrines may be recognized by the tori-i 
or portals being colored red, with carved stone 
foxes on either side. Besides the larger shrines, 
met with at almost every turning, each land- 
holder or farmer has one on his property. The 
Kitsune, the fox, became gradually associated 
with Inari. To the fox are erected many tem- 
ples throughout the empire. Hachiman, the 
sixteenth mikado, the son of the famous Jingu 
Kogo, who reigned from A. D. 270 to 309, is 
the god of warriors. There is no province or 



The Wayside Shrine. 



479 



town without one or more shrines dedicated to 
Hachiman. The latest important object of deifi- 
cation or canonization, known under the name 
of Gongen, who received the honor A. D. 1627, 




is the famous Iyeyasu, the first Tokugawa sho- 
gun. There are many shrines throughout the 
empire dedicated to him. 

Good works consist in repairing or improving 



480 China and Japan. 

the miya; but a number of Buddhist ideas are 
intermingled by the common people, who often 
hang up pictures, locks of hair, and other offer- 
ings such as those in the temples. No idols are 
ever found in the Shinto temples. 

The rites of Shintoism connected with death 
and burial are very few and simple. When life 
has passed away, the body is moved with the 
head to the north and a white cloth is placed 
over the face. Word is then sent to the officers 
of the ward, and to the Kannushi of the miya 
in the vicinity. The Kannushi perform the cere- 
monies for the dead, called Shokonsai. A desk 
is placed near the head of the corpse, on which 
is laid the offerings, consisting generally of a 
little water, rice, sake, cakes, fish, fruit, and vege- 
tables. The Rejie is prepared, consisting of a 
mirror, on the back of which the name of the 
deceased is written, and it is placed in a small 
tub, which is again covered with a white ma- 
terial, and is, for the space of forty-nine days, 
daily supplied with offerings, and prayers are 
daily repeated before it by the members of the 
family of the deceased. 

Not sooner than twenty-four hours after death 
the body is placed by the immediate relatives in 
a long coffin in a reclining posture, unlike the 
Buddhists. The kan or coffin has placed inside 



Funeral Ceremonies. 481 

of it a cotton quilt and a pillow of tea leaves or 
chaff, and the corpse is robed in a shroud of 
white material, shaped like an ordinary dress. 
With the body is placed a garment suited to the 
season, a girdle, a suit of full dress, a head-dress, 
and an over-dress of the ancient pattern. The 
funeral cortege varies with the rank and the 
means of the family, and upon arrival at the 
cemetery the funeral service is performed. Over 
the grave a small mound is formed and a square 
post is fixed in the center, on the front of which 
is written the name and age, and on the sides 
the date of death, place of birth, and other par- 
ticulars. The grave is fenced in with a paling 
of bamboo and wood, and at the gate is placed 
a small tori-i of rough wood stripped of its bark ; 
and plants of the sakaki are placed on each side 
of it, and inside a cherry tree is planted on each 
side of the grave. After one hundred days have 
elapsed the wood post is changed for a pillar 
of stone. 

According to native accounts Buddhism, to- 
gether with the appertaining idols, descriptive 
books, etc., was introduced from Hakusai, Corea, 
in the year A. D. 552, being the thirteenth year 
of the reign of Kin Mei Tenno, the thirtieth 
of his line from the reign of Jimmu. The idols, 
books, etc., were given by the mikado to his 



482 China and Japan. 

chief counselor of State, who deposited them in 
a part of his palace. In the year 577 the para- 
phernalia of the religion were again brought to 
Japan, and its doctrines found favor at court. 
In A. D. 585 a terrible pestilence raged in the 
country, and the counselor of state expressed to 
the monarch his fear that the visitation was sent 
expressly by the gods to mark their anger that 
the old faith should have been set aside or 
alloyed with the doctrines of the new creed. He 
was, however, unable to gain full credence, 
though successful in obtaining an order that the 
rites of the new religion should not be cele- 
brated. The temples were accordingly burned 
and the idols cast into the rivers. 

The history of the origin of Buddhism and 
its tenets were soon disseminated through the 
medium of the Chinese literature, which the 
priests received. They or their disciples appear 
to have been the first to make use of the Chinese 
characters, Chinese writing not having been gen- 
erally known at the date of the introduction 
of the new religion. The Chinese character now 
forms a large part of the language of Japan. In 
A. D. 624 two priests again arrived in Japan 
from Hakusai. One was raised to the rank of 
chief priest, and the other was constituted vicar- 
general. In A. D. 700 Do Sho, the chief priest 



Buddhist Sects. 483 

of the temple, died and was cremated, and 
this was the first time that cremation was prac- 
ticed in Japan. In A. D. 889 Uda Tenno, the 
fifty-ninth mikado, became a Buddhist priest, 
and Buddhism had now gained a firm establish- 
ment and was largely disseminated throughout 
the empire. 

From the very beginning Buddhism has been 
characterized in Japan by the formation of va- 
rious sects and the inculcation of various creeds, 
so that there are now, perhaps, a score of differ- 
ent sects of Buddhism in the country, some 
of them very far degenerated from the principles 
of original Buddhism, and some having pro- 
gressed to even a higher degree of morality, and 
a broader view of religion than the Buddhists 
of the middle ages. Of these sects, six still 
hold a most prominent place. The Tendai sect 
has over six thousand temples ; the Shingon over 
fifteen thousand ; the Zen over twenty-one thou- 
sand ; the Yodo over nine thousand ; and the 
Shinshiu, one of the latest founded, over thir- 
teen thousand. This last sect, which may be 
called the Protestants of Japanese Buddhism, was 
founded by Shinran in 1262. He was a pupil 
of Honen, the founder of the Yodo sect, and 
was of noble descent. He taught by example 
as well as by precept, that marriage was honor- 



484 China and Japan. 

able, and that celibacy was an invention of the 
priests not warranted by pure Buddhism. Pen- 
ance, fasting, prescribed diet, pilgrimages, sepa- 
ration from society, whether as hermits or in the 
cloister, nunneries and monasteries, amulets and 
charms, have all been set aside by this sect. 
The family takes the place of monkish seclusion. 
Devout prayer, purity, and earnestness of life, 
and trust in Buddha himself as the only worker 
of perfect righteousness, are insisted upon. The 
other sects teach the doctrine of salvation by 
works. Shinran taught that it is faith in Buddha 
that accomplishes the salvation of the believer. 
The Shin sect hold a form of the Protestant doc- 
trine of salvation by faith, believing in Buddha 
instead of Jesus; but it is not at all uncertain 
that this conception and many others were bor- 
rowed from Christianity. The followers of Shin- 
ran have always held a high position, and have 
wielded a vast influence in the religious develop- 
ment of the people; there is now prevailing 
among them what might be called a revival, 
inspired and intensified by the presence of Chris- 
tianity in the country, and the perception of its 
great and rapid success. The Shinshiu sect are 
reviving their zeal, building new temples, imitat- 
ing the activity of Christian missionaries, and 
have even sent missionaries of the sect over to 






Ranters of Buddhism. 485 

China to arouse new life and activity in the 
Buddhism of that country. 

Another famous sect is composed of the fol- 
lowers of Nichiren. Its founder was born in 
1222. His sect has grown to be one of the lar- 
gest, wealthiest, and most influential in Japan, 
1 ' and excels them all in proselyting zeal, polemic 
bitterness, sectarian bigotry, and intolerant arro- 
gance." This sect in the six centuries of its 
history has probably furnished a greater number 
of brilliant intellects, uncompromising zealots, 
unflinching martyrs, and relentless persecutors 
than any other in Japan. Among them are to 
be found more prayer-books, drums and other 
noisy accompaniments of revivals than in any 
other sect. They excel in the number of pil- 
grimages and in the use of charms, spells, and 
amulets. Their priests are celibates, and must 
abstain from wine, fish, and all flesh. They 
are just the opposite of the Shinshiu sect, and 
have well been called the ' ' Ranters of Buddhism. " 
To this sect belonged Kato Kiomasa, a bloody 
persecutor of the Christians in the sixteenth cen- 
tury, now canonized as a holy saint in the 
calendar of Buddhists. 

There are now, perhaps, one hundred thou- 
sand Buddhist temples in Japan. They have 
seventy-five thousand priests ; many of them are 

3* 



486 China and Japan 

married, and with their families number nearly 
one hundred thousand. There are nearly forty 
thousand students of Buddhism, making a priest- 
hood of two hundred thousand, with followers 
of perhaps twenty millions. The temples in 
Japan are inferior in size and architectural beauty 
to those found in most other Asiatic countries. 
The immediate surroundings of their temples, 
however, are generally superior to those found 
elsewhere. Much money is expended and con- 
siderable taste is shown in beautifying the locali- 
ties in which their sacred buildings stand, and 
multitudes are attracted to these spots by the 
beautiful shade trees, shrubbery, and sometimes 
even flower gardens that are attached to them. 
Occasionally, in the great cities, a temple is met 
with worthy to be compared with those found in 
other countries. Especially is this the case in 
Kioto, the old capital, and the famous temples 
of Shiba and Uyeno, at Yedo, were very mag- 
nificent buildings ; but both were destroyed by 
fire, and there is now no temple of any great 
size or peculiar beauty in Tokio. 

The funeral rites of the Buddhists are much 
more imposing than those of Shintoism. After 
death and after the official inquest has taken 
place, the priests are introduced and all is made 
pleasant for the soul of the deceased, and the 



Buddhist Obsequies. 487 

peace of mind of the survivors. The priest 
selects the Kai-mio or posthumous name, and 
writes it on a slip of white paper, pasted on a 
small tablet of unstained wood. The deceased is 
then placed so that the head is toward the north, 
and a folding screen turned upside down is placed 
at the head of the body. A new desk, about a 
foot in height, occupies the space between the 
head of the corpse and the screen, on which 
cakes of raw rice flour are laid out, and also a 
single rush-wick light in a saucer of oil, with a 
saucer of unglazed ware, in which joss-sticks 
are placed. The eating-tray, cups, saucers, and 
chopsticks used by the deceased are filled with 
vegetable food and placed at the side of the 
corpse. 

Forty-eight hours after death the corpse is 
arranged for the coffin by ablution in warm water. 
Unless the deceased has otherwise directed, the 
head is shaved, the priest, while he is reciting 
certain customary prayers, making the first three 
movements with the razor, which he afterwards 
relinquishes to the barber. The corpse is then 
dressed for interment, those that have been 
shaved being clothed as priests, and those that 
have not been shaved in the ordinary dress. In 
all cases the shroud is white, of silk, linen, of 
cotton, and of the same make as the common 



488 China and Japan. 

outet dress of the deceased, the wealthy being 
attired in the same number and pattern of dresses 
as they were in that season on gala and official 
occasions — the full dress, in fact, but entirely 
white. The hair of the females, when not shaven, 
is tied behind, and falls down after the fashion 
of the ladies of the court, and stockings are 
either put on their feet or are put in the coffin. 
Clogs or sandals, however, are discarded, as they 
are not worn in paradise. 

The body is then placed in the coffin in the 
usual sitting posture, the hands of those who 
have been shaved being joined as in the act 
of prayer. The coffins are of various kinds, the 
commonest being a kind of tub, large enough to 
sit in ; others a square box, or an inner and 
outer box of unstained wood, commonly pine or 
shinoki. The latter wood is considered the most 
suitable for sacred purposes, being commonly 
used by such as can afford it. Earthenware jars 
are also used by the nobility and the wealthy. 
The better classes fill in the vacant spaces of the 
coffin with chaff or tea leaves. Those who are 
shaven have a cap placed upon the head. The 
bier is then laid upon tressels, the face of the 
corpse being turned toward the north, and a tem- 
porary altar is raised, upon which offerings are 
placed. The people of the house of mourning 



The Future World. 489 

do not retire to rest the night before the funeral, 
which is occupied by the priests of the family 
temple in reciting prayers. 

On the day of the funeral the body is con- 
veyed to the temple where preparations have 
been made to receive it, and prayers are recited. 
The ceremonies vary for each sect, and are, be- 
sides, regulated by the wishes of the survivors, 
and their expenditure of money on display. 
The prayers being ended the body is carried to 
the grave, accompanied by the priest, who recites 
prayers until the interment is completed. The 
poorer classes often bury their dead by torchlight 
to avoid the exposure of their poverty. For- 
merly cremation was largely resorted to, but it is 
now forbidden. 

There are five states of the good when their 
souls pass into the future world. The first and 
highest state is that of absorption into Buddha ; 
then in succession follow the state of Bosatsu, 
which is that of awaiting absorption ; the third 
state, probationary to admission among the Bo- 
satsu ; the fourth state, which is on the road to 
paradise; the fifth, the normal state of ordinary 
sinning humanity, not actually guilty of any great 
sin, — if a good, devout liver, the soul goes to Ten 
jio, and successively works up to the highest 
state. But if a person of indifferent life, a scoffer 



49° China and Japan. 

at religion, or a brawler and bloodthirsty man, 
his soul flies to the purgatory of the Buddhists. 
If guilty of uncleanness, of inhuman conduct, 
such as adultery, rape, incest, or eating forbidden 
food, the soul, after death, is punished by the 
great judge, Yemma, by transformation into a 
beast, and is condemned to live on the earth. 
This is the state of the transmigration of the 
soul into inferior animals, birds, reptiles, etc. 
The final punishment is that of perpetual hunger 
and starvation in pandemonium. 

There are eight modes of torture in the future 
world: First, the wicked are alternately beaten 
to death and resuscitated. Secondly, they are 
dragged limb from limb, chopped to pieces, 
pounded in a large mortar, sawn or planed into 
various shapes, eyes gouged out, and the tongue 
and nails plucked out. In the third the crowd 
of the wicked are beaten about like animals in a 
pen. The fourth is weeping ; the fifth is great 
lamentation ; the sixth, burning and roasting ; 
the seventh, hills covered with large needles, 
over which the wicked are driven .; the eighth, be- 
ing thrown into the bottomless pit of perdition. 



xxxir. 



%o f}eligioi$ of Cliink. 



fm 



l^pEVERAL religions exist at the present day 
among the Chinese, but what was the first 
form of religious culture is now difficult to 
<$ determine. It is very probable that in the 
i beginning the Chinese, after the example 
^ of all the people of Asia, adored the heav- 
enly bodies ; this system of worship seems also 
to have had its priests, who formed at one time 
a powerful and formidable college under the 
name of the Tribunal, or Court, of Celestial Affairs. 
But, to set out from the times of reliable history, 
as early as we can trace the history of the nation, 
we can discover already established a religion 
recognizing the existence of a Supreme Being, 
who was supposed to overrule the general affairs 
of the empire, and to whom the emperor, assisted 
by his highest mandarins, offered once a year cer- 
tain sacrifices, and addressed prayers and thanks- 
givings. This Being seems to have been known 

491 



49 2 China and Japan. 

and worshiped under the name of Shang-ti — the 
Supreme Ruler. All the ancient philosophers 
appear to be united in the belief of the existence 
of a powerful Creator, who formed the universe. 
" Before the existence of chaos, which preceded 
the origin of the heavens and the earth/' says 
Lao-tsze, " there existed a solitary Being, im- 
mense and silent, immutable and always acting 
without changing in himself, This Being we 
should regard as the parent of the universe. I 
am ignorant of his name, but I designate him by 
the word Reason" Most generally, however, 
this Being is known under the name of Shang-ti, 
or T'ien-ti, both in the ancient books and in the 
religious ceremonies still directed to this object 
of worship. The rites by which at least the 
remembrance of this ancient religion is kept 
up among the Chinese consist in the offering 
of sacrifices in the national temples or in public 
places on stated occasions, which are carefully 
prescribed, together with all the ceremonies 
attending them, in the "Book of Rites." 

On these occasions the emperor himself offi- 
ciates as high-priest, assisted by his chief man- 
darins as his subordinates, there being no regular 
priesthood connected with the state religion. 
In other cities throughout the empire the man- 
darins and the literati perform certain ceremonies. 



Imperial Worship. 493 

The heavens, earth, sun, and moon are the great 
objects of worship. When the heavens are wor- 
shiped the emperor, or officiating high -priest, 
arrays himself in magnificent robes of silk of an 
azure blue color ; in the worship of the earth his 
robes are saffron colored ; the sun is worshiped 
in crimson, and the moon in robes of spotless 
white. The sacrifices to the heavens are made 
on the day of the Winter solstice ; those to the 
earth on the day of the Summer solstice ; the 
others are offered according to the inclination or 
pleasure of the emperor. The victims offered 
are cows, pigs, bullocks, and sheep, which are 
cut up and cooked, and afterward placed on 
altars dedicated to heaven and earth ; the altars 
used in the service of the former being round, 
those used in the sacrifices to the earth being 
square. Before participating in any of these 
sacrificial rites it is necessary for the emperor 
and all his assistants to lead a life of rigid self- 
denial for several days. A strict fast must be 
maintained for three entire days, abstaining from 
food, and neither listening to music, conversing 
with wives, nor mourning for the dead during that 
period. The mode of worship is very simple, 
consisting in offering sacrifices, burning incense, 
making prayers and confessions, and prostrations 
before the altar. These ceremonies are wholly 



494 China and Japan. 

confined to the imperial family and officers of 
state. Their observance is rigidly enforced, and 
the neglect of them is followed by the severest 
punishment. If the Taouist or Buddhist priests 
attempt to imitate the ceremonies of this wor- 
ship it is deemed a sacrilege, and they are se- 
verely punished ; and the same is the case with 
any unauthorized or common person who at- 
tempts to hold communication w T ith the gods 
after the manner adopted in this religion. This, 
then, is emphatically a state religion. 

And now let us contemplate briefly the im- 
port of these ceremonies. The first question 
that meets us here is, What are the objects con- 
templated in this system of worship ? To answer 
this question fully, it would be necessary to enter 
into the labyrinths of Chinese theology and cos- 
mogony, and to draw out, if possible, a consist- 
ent system from the gorgeous speculations, sub- 
tile pantheism, and materialistic atheism with 
which their books abound. We prefer to limit 
ourselves to the question, What are the objects 
recognized by the people in this state religion ? 
To this question the Chinese answer, Shang-ti or 
T'ien-ti, Te, Shin, Yin, and Yang. When we 
inquire more minutely wtih reference to these ob- 
jects, Shang-ti, we are told, is a shin (god), and 
is not a shin, and is the father, or parent, or 



Shang-ti. 495 

ruler of all the shin. T'ien is the visible heaven, 
is all the heavenly bodies, is the ruling power 
on high, or the intelligent, active being above. 
Te is the earth, the visible material world, the 
ruling power of the world, or the vivifying and 
reproductive power of the earth. Shin embraces 
all the gods, celestial and terrestrial. Yang is 
the male germinating principle of nature, repre- 
sented by the sun. Yin is the female principle 
of nature, represented by the earth. 

If we leave the people and turn to the books 
we receive answers more carefully expressed, but 
not less confused. With regard to T'ien -ti and 
Shang-ti, we learn from one philosopher that 
"Shang-ti is the same as heaven; if we collect 
all the gods of heaven and name them we call 
them Shang-ti;" that is, the rulers on high. 
Here the ti seems to have a plural import, and 
T ? ien-ti and Shang-ti appear to be collective 
names, embracing all the celestial gods or rulers. 
From another we learn that "the greatest of the 
celestial gods is called Expansive Heaven, and 
Shang-ti. He is also called the celestial, august, 
great ruler; also the Great One." Here both 
titles have a singular import, referring to one 
great personal deity, who is the ruler of all the 
celestial gods. With reference to T'ien-ti, more 
particularly, we arc told that "T'ien [heaven] 



496 China and Japan. 

and ti [the ruler] are the same. Heaven refers 
to its substance, and ti, the ruler, to its ruling. 
Because of the immensity of its substance we 
call it expansive heaven ; because its ruling seat 
is on high we call it Shang-ti." Here these 
terms seem to be only the titles of the active 
representative of a pantheistic monotheism. 

In the Shoo -king, the historical classic of 
Confucius, we are told "Shang-ti is the god of 
heaven," and by Mencius that "Shang-ti is the 
most honorable of all the gods." From the 
"Book of Rites," which prescribes these cere- 
monies, we learn that ' ' the celestial gods are six 
in number ; they are sacrificed to nine times in a 
year. Expansive Heaven, or Shang-ti, who is 
sacrificed to at the Winter solstice, is the first." 
The remaining five are called the Woo-ti, or five 
celestial rulers. The philosophers of China, like 
those of Christendom, are unwilling to rest satis- 
fied with the plain teachings of the sacred books, 
and have thrown around these definitions the 
mists of speculation. As an example of their 
style, I shall present the following passage from 
Choo-foo-tsze : "Men," says the philosopher, 
"must see and distinguish for themselves; some- 
times it [Tien] means the material heavens, 
sometimes it means the ruling power, and some- 
times merely destiny or fate. Considered in the 






Shin. 497 

abstract, it is simply reason ; but if you regard 
its properties, then, as to its form or figure, it 
is called heaven, and as to its active energy and 
manifestation, it is called spirits and gods." 

With regard to the shin, or gods, we find the 
objects of religious worship in the national rites 
enumerated under these three names : Shin, ce- 
lestial gods ; K'he, terrestrial gods ; and Kwei, 
human manes. "That which is most pure and 
spiritual," says one of the classics, "is called 
Shin. Every shin is originally from heaven. If 
we speak of them separately, heaven is called 
Shin, man is called Kwei, and earth is called 
K'he ; that is, when we speak of heaven, earth, 
and man, spiritually. The gods are the product 
of the Yang, or male germinating principle, and 
the spirits of men of the Yin, or female princi- 
ple. But if we regard man alone, his soul must 
be considered shin, and his animal life the kwei. 
Hence the Li Ki [Book of Rites] says, 'The 
life of his soul is from the abundance of the 
divine principle, and his animal life is from the 
abundance of the secondary principle.' Of the 
five treasuries of man, it is the heart which 
treasures up the divine principle. If we speak 
of that which is divine, without regarding man 
alone, then every pure spiritual substance which 
possesses a transforming and unsearchable nature 



49 8 China and Japan 

may be called divine. And thus the Yih-king 
[First Sacred Book] says, 'The divine nature, in 
a proper description, is of all things the most 
admirable.' " 

We are now prepared to learn also from 
these books the import of the sacrifices con- 
nected with the national religion. In the second 
of the "four books" it is said, "The rites of 
the Kiau and Shie are the means whereby we 
serve Shang-ti, the supreme ruler, and the sov- 
ereign of earth." The commentator says: "In 
the Kiau [the sacrifice at the Winter solstice] 
they sacrifice to heaven, and in the Shie [the 
sacrifice at the Summer solstice] they sacrifice 
to earth ; that the sovereign of earth is not men- 
tioned is owing to brevity of style." Here a 
very obvious distinction seems to be made be- 
tween the ruler on high and the sovereign of 
earth ; a distinction which is made still more 
plain in the Chau-li, which says: "The heaven 
worshiped at the Winter solstice is the god of 
heaven ; and this is Shang-ti, the ruler on high. 
Hence that which is sacrificed to in the sacrifice 
to heaven is called the god of imperial heaven ; 
but that which is sacrificed to in the sacrifice to 
earth is called the K'he of imperial earth." 
Again it is said : "In the sacrifice to heaven the 
three-vear old bullock is used, but in the sacrifice 



Expansive Heaven. 499 

to earth, a full-grown ox. The god of heaven 
is most honorable, and with him nothing can be 
compared ; therefore, in the sacrifice to heaven 
the perfect offering is used — the three -year old 
bullock." Another writer, speaking of the force 
and import of these sacrifices among the ancients, 
remarks " that in the * Chau-li ' (B. C. 1100) we 
read that they used the pure offering to sacrifice 
to Expansive Heaven, the supreme ruler. Thus 
in the pure offering they offered a sacrifice to 
Heaven alone ; it did not belong to any other 
god ; and we read also that the officer, when 
sacrificing to Bright Heaven, wore the great robe 
and imperial cap ; hence Expansive Heaven, the 
supreme ruler, is the most honorable of the hun- 
dred gods." 

As far, then, as we are able to learn from the 
Chinese themselves, three objects of veneration 
and worship appear to be included in the sacri- 
fices of the national religion : first, Heaven, or 
the god of heaven, or the supreme ruler; sec- 
ondly, Earth, or the gods of the earth ; and, 
thirdly, the manes of men, — the last giving rise 
to all the ceremonies of the worship of ancestors. 
To Shang-ti, or the god of heaven, great vener- 
ation has been given by the Chinese in all ages, 
and many excellent attributes are predicated of 
him ; yet the speculations of the philosophers 



500 China and Japan 

have so mystified the idea or conception of this 
being, confounding him with the material heavens, 
with the primitive reason, and with destiny or 
fate, while the perpetual tendency of the heathen 
mind to polytheism has led the people so to 
mingle his name with the inferior deities, that, 
whatever may have been the case in the early 
ages of the empire, at present we must conclude 
that Shang-ti, as conceived by the Chinese, is a 
being very different from the Jehovah of the 
Christian. At present Shang-ti, when viewed as 
a personal existence, occupies, in relation to 
Chinese theology, about the same position as 
was occupied by Jove in the mythology of 
Greece and Rome. We are glad to believe that 
many things may be adduced from the ancient 
books to prove that, in the extreme antiquity of 
the empire, the religion of China was monothe- 
istic ; but at the present day it is painfully obvi- 
ous that they have "gods many and lords many." 
We should not, however, fail to remark that 
in the national religion there is no idolatry, as 
far as idolatry includes the sensible representa- 
tion of an object of worship. There is no at- 
tempt to represent by images or idols the sup- 
posed gods which they worship, and the sacrifices 
and ceremonies of the annual offerings are per- 
formed away from all the temples, in the open air. 



Atheism. 501 

But, indeed, in this system of" worship, an 
obvious representation of their gods by an image 
or idol would be altogether superfluous and out 
of place ; for each has his visible representation, 
with which, indeed, the Deity himself is con- 
founded. Thus the visible heavens are the rep- 
resentations of Shang-ti and T'ien-ti; so much 
so that, as we have seen, it is difficult to deter- 
mine whether any thing else than the material 
heavens are considered in the worship. And the 
earth visibly represents the terrestrial divinities 
addressed in the Summer sacrifices, if, indeed, 
the earth in its vivifying and productive powers 
be not the real object of worship. 

But it is only in this state religion — in this 
strange system of mysterious and abstract wor- 
ship, offered to objects of which the worshipers 
themselves form no distinct conception, and per- 
petuated through the mere force of custom — that 
no images or idols are found. In every other 
system they abound ; and these same worshipers, 
after stepping aside from the formalities and 
mysteries of the state religion, often seek for 
something more tangible in the more purely idol- 
atrous systems w r hich exist among them. But 
this is by no means the case with all of these 
official and literary worshipers. The majority of 

them are atheists with reference to all religions, 

32 



502 China and Japan. 

and have sunk into the most immovable indiffer- 
entism with regard to all systems. And no 
wonder; their very connection with this obscure 
and undefined state religion almost necessarily 
leads to atheism. The national authorities who 
prescribe these forms, and the philosophers 
whose books they must study, teach them to 
look with the most profound contempt on the 
religious systems which exist among the people, 
while they offer them no substitute but the un- 
meaning and objectless forms of the state wor- 
ship, which is addressed to mere names, the 
import of which no one pretends to understand. 
Thus by their official and literary position they 
are driven away from the gods of the people, 
and in the religion which belongs to them as 
officers and men of letters they find no god, but 
serve a shadow that has no substance, and ven- 
erate a series of sacred names which have no 
object or meaning. 

Some are in the habit of speaking of Confu- 
cianism as a system of religion ; but it is a pain- 
ful fact that, in a system of virtue and order so 
well calculated in other respects for the govern- 
ment of a great nation, there is to be found but 
very little of religious sentiment or belief. In- 
deed, it is not a system of religion, but a system 
of politico -moral philosophy, applying to the 



Confucianism. 503 

pressing wants and circumstances of man, and 
excluding as much as possible all reference to 
spiritual and divine things and the wants of the 
future. Confucius is never religious in any of 
his writings ; he contents himself with recom- 
mending in general the observances of the an- 
cient practices of filial piety and paternal love, 
and the bringing of the conduct into conformity 
with the laws of heaven, with which human, ac- 
tions ought always to harmonize. His books, 
which are studied by the Chinese as sacred vol- 
umes, teach them that the true principles of 
social order and virtue are, obedience to parents, 
elders, s.nd rulers, and the practice of justice 
and equity among themselves. The duties of 
the sovereign are as strictly laid down as those 
of his subjects, and while they are taught to 
obey him as a father he is enjoined to take care 
of them as his children. 

If Confucius gave no religious system to the 
Chinese, neither did he call in question or mod- 
ify any of the religious sentiments or practices of 
the people. He left untouched the national re- 
ligion, and changed nothing in the great sacri- 
fices offered to the Supreme Being by the em- 
peror, nor in the national religious observances 
among the people, nor in the rites observed in 
the worship of ancestors, — and thus came into 



504 China and Japan 

no collision with the popular beliefs and customs. 
Indeed, all these he recognized and enjoined, in- 
terweaving them with his philosophy and moral- 
ity; and consequently his system became early 
and rapidly the acknowledged religion of the 
empire and the controlling system of the people. 
It is because of this associating of the ancient 
religious rites and customs with the philosophy 
and morality of Confucius that we so often speak 
of Confucianism as a system of religion. Of 
Confucius himself, and the quasi worship ren- 
dered to him, we have spoken in another place. 
Two systems of religion in China still remain 
unnoticed, and as they are intimately blended 
together in their practical manifestations — the 
people availing themselves of the superstitous 
riteS and customs of each system according to 
their pleasure or convenience — we have thought 
we could most successfully treat of them by first 
examining the historical and doctrinal features 
of the two systems, and then taking a general 
view of the religious rites and ceremonies of the 
Chinese people. These two systems are known 
among us under the names of Taouism, or Ra- 
tionalism, and Buddhism. In China they are 
known as Taon-kia and Fo-kia. The former of 
these is of native origin, and is but little known 
or understood outside of China ; the latter 



Laou-tsze. 505 

originated in India, and was introduced into 
China toward the end of the first century of the 
Christian era. 

1. Taouism. — The author of this system is 
known among the Chinese by the name of 
Laou-tsze, or Laou-kiun, a name derived from a 
fabulous story connected with his birth He is 
believed to have been carried in the womb of 
his mother for eighty -one years, and to have 
been born an old man, toothless, w r ith white 
hair and eyebrows, and shriveled features ; hence 
the titles, "aged child/' and "venerable prince,'' 
which the above names signify. He was born, 
B. C. 604, in the kingdom of Tsu, now the 
province of Hupeh, about fifty-four years before 
Confucius. But this is not supposed to be the 
first appearance of the great sage ; for he is be- 
lieved to have already appeared several times 
upon the earth, not after the manner of an in- 
carnation, but on the principles of metempsycho- 
sis he is supposed to have animated other bodies 
besides the one above mentioned. His parents 
were poor, but he soon became known as one 
devoted to study, and gave early indications of 
his genius. When yet young he was appointed 
librarian by the emperor, in which capacity he 
diligently applied himself to the study of the 
ancient books, and became acquainted with all 



506 China and Japan 

the rites and histories of former times. Tradi- 
tion reports that he made an extensive journey 
through Central Asia, and that he visited Ta-tsin, 
a country which, in Chinese writings, is generally 
believed to be the Roman Empire. Some sup- 
pose Ta-tsin to be Judea, and conclude that 
many of his ideas were received in that country. 
M. Hue and other French writers think favora- 
bly of the opinion that he actually visited 
Greece, and drew from the same sources as the 
masters of ancient philosophy ; basing the opin- 
ion on some striking points of similarity between 
the leading features of his philosophical system 
and those of the Pythagorean and Platonic phi- 
losophers. It is doubtful, indeed, if Laou-kiun 
ever left China. The tradition appears only in 
the form of one of those fables with which the 
lives of ancient sages are so often adorned by 
their disciples ; namely, that in one of his trans- 
formations his soul descended many ages ago 
into the western countries, and converted the 
inhabitants of the Roman Empire, about, accord- 
ing to the Chinese dates, six hundred years be- 
fore the building of Rome ! 

The philosophy of Laou-kiun is an extremely 
subtle system of metaphysics, the leading idea 
of which is the development of all things under 
the energetic influence of an eternally existing 



Taouism. 507 

principle, which he calls taou, generally rendered 
reason. We have no good ground for believing 
that the philosopher looked upon this principle 
or power as a personal being, or even as a ma- 
terial or spiritual essence ; he seems to view it 
rather as an abstract principle — an eternal law 
or rule — existing before all things, necessitating 
the existence of things, and determining the 
properties, forms, and states of all beings and 
things as they now are ; in a word, a primitive 
reason or rule — the abstract fitness of things — 
under the requirements of which the universe 
must exist and must develop itself. He has 
written but one philosophical work, under the 
name of Taou Teh King — ''Book of Reason 
and Virtue." 

We find in this system a more distinct recog- 
nition of the individual existence of gods, spirits, 
and demons, than in the national religion, or in 
any of the teachings of Confucius. The separate 
existence of the human soul is distinctly taught; 
all spirits are supposed to emanate from the 
bosom of reason, and all good beings find their 
highest fruition and eternal existence in return- 
ing again to that place of harmony and rest ; 
but the wicked must endure the misery of suc- 
cessive births and transmigrations till finally sub- 
dued and fitted for this rest. 



508 ' China and Japan. 

The morality taught by Laou-tsze is confess- 
edly of a high order, and is the source of many 
of the best maxims and precepts of the great 
Confucius. He does not, like Confucius, draw 
his morality from the opinions of ancient sages, 
nor from ancient models or personages; his ideas 
of reason and virtue seem to spring entirely from 
his own conceptions. According to him, perfec- 
tion consists in a complete subordination of the 
passions, affections, and emotions to the dictates 
of reason, without which he conceives it impos- 
sible to be happy, or to contemplate the har- 
mony of the universe. "There is not," says 
he, "any greater happiness than that of being 
without passion, as there is no greater sin than 
ill-regulated desires, nor any greater misfortune 
than the torments which are the just punishment 
of them." To accomplish this subjugation of 
the passions, he recommends retirement and 
contemplation as the most effectual means of 
purifying the spiritual part of our nature, and 
finally returning to the bosom of Reason. 

Unfortunately for the doctrine of Laou-kiun, 
it has been greatly altered and corrupted by his 
followers, who have long since ceased to be 
speculative philosophers, and who, though still 
bearing the title of Taou-tse, or Doctors of Rea- 
son, have established a system of religion full 



Buddhism. 509 

of superstitions and absurdities. The purity of 
the ancient dogmas disappeared little by little, 
and the sect, although still having among the 
lower classes a very great number of partisans, 
is fallen into disrepute. Two truths which stood 
out prominently in the system of Laou-kiun — 
namely, the existence of gods, demons, and 
spirits, and the separate existence of the human 
soul after death — are still found among the 
Taou-tse, but greatly modified, and made the 
basis of many absurd opinions and ridiculous 
practices. 

The Taou-tse have numerous temples through- 
out China, have gods many and lords many, 
mingle idolatrous and religious rites with their 
pretended skill in magic, and perform, in fact, 
all the functions of the priests of a dreadfully 
superstitious sect. 

2. Buddhism. — This system of religion, as is 
well known, is of Indian origin, and was intro- 
duced into China about A. D. 66, during the 
Han dynasty, by means of an embassy sent to 
the west, at the suggestion of the Taouists, to 
seek for a wise man, said to have appeared 
there, and whose fame had reached China. 
From the period at which this event took place, 
some have ventured to suppose that some indis- 
tinct tidings of the advent and death of Christ 



510 China and Japan. 

may have reached China. The messengers, 
however, went no farther than India, where 
Buddhism then prevailed, but where there were 
no teachers of Christianity ; therefore, they con- 
cluded that Buddhism must be the religion they 
were in search of, and returned to China, bring- 
ing with them a number of bonzes, or priests, 
of that persuasion. Thus introduced under im- 
perial auspices, it was eagerly embraced by the 
people, and rapidly spread throughout the empire. 
Though long since avowedly abandoned by the 
emperor and the official and learned men of the 
empire, it has always been tolerated by the Chi- 
nese Government, and is now the most popular 
system of religion among the masses. It is ex- 
tended throughout nearly all the countries of the 
East. In Ceylon, Thibet, Siam, and Burmah it 
exists in almost undivided sway, and under gov- 
ernment patronage. In China, Cochin -China, 
Mongolia, Manchuria, Corea, Lew -chew, and 
Japan it is extensively diffused, having multi- 
tudes of adherents, priests, nuns, temples, mon- 
asteries, etc., though receiving no support from 
government. The head of the system, who 
holds the same rank among the votaries of 
Buddhism as the pope does among Romanists, 
resides, with much state, in Thibet, and is called 
the Grand Lama. He is supposed to be infallible 



The Grand Lama. 511 

and immortal, — not, however, by living perpetu- 
ally in one body ; but when the Grand Lama 
dies it is given out that his soul has passed into 
the body of some child, whom the priests pre- 
tend to identify by certain signs, and who is 
brought up in the belief that the same spirit 
which animated the form of his predecessor ex- 
ists within himself. Hence, the office of Grand 
Lama always commences with infancy and lasts 
till the close of life. 

"The word Buddha," says M. Hue, "is a 
very ancient generic name, having in Sanskrit a 
double root. The one signifies being, existence; 
the other, wisdom, superior intelligence. It is 
the name by which was originally designated the 
creative, omnipotent God ; but it has been ex- 
tended to those w r ho worshiped him, and sought 
to raise themselves to him by contemplation and 
holiness. All the Buddhists, however, whom we 
have met in China, Tartary, Thibet, and Ceylon, 
intended by this name to denote an actual his- 
torical personage, who has become celebrated 
throughout Asia, and who is regarded as the 
founder of the institutions and doctrines com- 
prised under the general name of Buddhism." 

By the Buddhists this personage is sometimes 
viewed as a human being who attained a high 
state of excellence by retirement and contem- 



Si2 China and Japan 

plation ; sometimes as a god, a god-man, or in- 
carnation ; by many he is considered the last 
avatar, or incarnation of Vishnu, who lived among 
men about iooo B. C, illustrating in his life the 
highest state of purity and perfection, and spend- 
ing his life in teaching his doctrines, which were 
so well received that before his ascension to 
heaven, at the age of eighty years, they had 
spread over all India, Ceylon, Siam, and Burmah. 
Buddha was born in Bahar about 1029 B. C, 
and died about 950 B. C. He was the son of 
Soutadanna, King of Magadha, in southern 
Bahar, and of Mahamaia, to whom tradition says 
Soutadanna was married, but did not consum- 
mate his marriage with her. She is supposed to 
have conceived by divine influence, and on the 
fifteenth day of the second month of Spring she 
brought into the world a son, whom she had 
borne in her womb three hundred days. His 
name is said to have been Sarvarthasidha, or 
Ardhasidha ; but he was frequently called by 
what appears to be a sort of patronymic desig- 
nation, Gaudama, and by the complimentary 
surnames, Sakya-sinha and Sakya-muni — " the 
lion or the penitent of Sakya." The title of 
Buddha does not appear to have been given to 
him till after he had attained eminent sanctity as 
a teacher of religion. 



His tor y of B uddha. 5 1 3 

Conformably to the prevailing usage of the 
country, the infant Ardhasidha was, a few days 
after his birth, presented before the image of a 
deity, which is said to have inclined its head 
when the infant was brought near its shrine, as a 
recognition of his greatness. His mother, taking 
him in her arms from the shrine of the deity, 
presented him to a king, who was also an incar- 
nation of Brahma, and who enveloped him in a 
piece of precious cloth, and lavished upon him 
the most tender care. Another king, an incar- 
nation of Indra, baptized the young god in divine 
water, and he was immediately recognized as a 
divine person, it being foretold that he would 
surpass in holiness all preceding incarnations. 
In his tenth year he was placed under the guid- 
ance of a celebrated spiritual teacher, whose 
name was Bah-Burenu Bakshi. He soon devel- 
oped faculties of the first order, outstripping and 
embarrassing his distinguished master, and be- 
came equally celebrated for the uncommon beauty 
of his person. When twenty years of age he 
was urged to marry, but refused to do so unless a 
wife possessing thirty-two virtues and perfections 
could be found for him, which was secured in 
the person of a noble virgin called Yasodhara 
Devi, by whom, in the following year, he had a 
son, and soon after a daughter. 



5 i 4 China and Japan. 

At this period of his life it is related that 
earnest meditations concerning the depravity and 
misery of mankind began to occupy his mind, 
and he conceived the plan of retiring from hu- 
man society and becoming a hermit. His friends 
earnestly dissuaded him from this step, and 
endeavored by force to frustrate his design. 
Buddha escaped the vigilance of the guards 
placed over him, and fled to the banks of the 
river Narasara, in the kingdom of Udipa. Here 
he took upon himself the title and order of a 
priest, shaved his head, assumed the costume of 
a penitent, and lived alone in his desert contem- 
plations. He soon afterward chose a still wilder 
retreat, taking with him only two disciples, who 
became afterward celebrated in Buddhism. At 
the expiration of six years he presented himself 
as a religious teacher at Benares, a sacred town 
which had already been the residence of the 
founders of three religious epochs. Here he 
began to unfold his doctrines, immediately gath- 
ering around him great multitudes of hearers 
from all classes. At first doubts were enter- 
tained as to the soundness of his mind ; but his 
doctrines soon gained credit, and were propa- 
gated so rapidly that Buddha himself lived to see 
them spread all over India. At the age of eighty 
years he quitted the earth, " casting off his mate- 



Buddhism. 515 

rial envelop, to be reabsorbed into the universal 
soul, which is himself/' 

Buddhism, as it exists in China, is but little 
known or studied, either by the Chinese people 
or by the bonzes themselves, as a doctrinal sys- 
tem. It exists principally as a form of worship, 
in which the priests participate — of various rites 
and superstitious ceremonies which they perform 
for the people, and of fulfilling a large number 
of priestly offices according to the wants and 
wishes of a people almost wholly destitute of a 
systematic religion. There is a remarkable fea- 
ture common to all the religious sects of China ; 
they have lost their identity as distinct systems, 
and every-where run into each other ; the philos- 
ophy or theology on which they were originally 
constructed has become obsolete, and nothing is 
left but the outward shell of practical manifesta- 
tion — certain acts of worship, certain rites, cere- 
monies, forms of prayer, festivals, etc., which 
are practiced by the priests, and used by the 
people when circumstances seem to require them. 
There are no teachers of doctrine, and nobody 
studies either Taouism or Buddhism. To become 
a priest is much more learning to practice an art 
than studying to comprehend a philosophy or a 
theology. The priest will never be asked to ex- 
pound his system, or to give light to an anxious 



516 China and Japan. 

and inquiring soul ; but he will be often called 
upon to perform certain religious ceremonies and 
magic arts — to offer prayers, conduct festivals, 
lead processions, tell fortunes, etc. The bonzes 
are much less priests of Buddha than priests of 
the Chinese people. Their system allowed the 
incorporation of the deities and spirits of other 
religions, and permitted the priests even to wor- 
ship the gods of other pantheons, so that they 
could adapt themselves to the popular supersti- 
tions of the countries they entered, and ingraft 
into their own calendar all the foreign spirits 
they chose. This they have done in China and 
in Japan. Into this country they had an auspi- 
cious entrance under imperial favor ; the rites 
which they brought presented nothing cruel or 
revolting; they adopted all the superstitious 
opinions and practices already existing among 
the people ; sanctioned and co-operated with the 
national religion, applauded Confucianism, en- 
tered into the ancestral worship, indorsed and 
performed the funeral rites and ceremonies, and 
thus offered themselves, and were accepted, as 
the priests of the people. 

These circumstances will relieve us from the 
necessity of studying here the metaphysical as- 
pects of Buddhism. It is sufficient for our pur- 
pose to name the following features: It is built 



Images. 517 

upon the basis of an immaterial pantheism ; 
every thing is but the transient manifestation of 
the Deity, without real or permanent existence ; 
creation is an illusion ; life is an evil ; non-exist- 
ence is bliss ; God, the infinite and eternal, is all 
and in all, are the great features of Buddhism. 
Humanity accomplishes its highest end when it 
discovers the delusion of all visible things, and 
by retirement and the most profound abstraction 
becomes weaned from all worldly things, and 
fitted to be reunited with God. This is the 
blissful portion of the good. The wicked must 
still continue to pass through successive births 
and states and forms of life, till fitted for this 
divine annihilation. 

Buddha is worshiped by some sects simply as 
a man, who, by his holy and contemplative life, 
had raised himself to the highest possible excel- 
lence ; by most Buddhists, however, he is adored 
as an incarnation of the Divine Being. He is 
represented in all Buddhist temples in the form 
of a colossal image, in a sitting posture, wearing 
a very happy countenance ; generally built of 
clay, and gayly painted and gilded. Near him 
is usually found their favorite goddess, Kwan- 
yin — "the hearer of cries" — also called "Holy 
Mother," and "Queen of Heaven," seated on 
a lotus -flower, and securing almost an equal 

33 



518 China and Japan. 

share of worship and veneration with Buddha 
himself. 

This brings us to notice a very prominent 
feature in the practical exhibitions of Buddhism, 
which we should not overlook; namely, its strik- 
ing resemblance to the ecclesiastical institutions 
and ceremonial observances of the Roman Cath- 
olic Church. This is one of the first things that 
arrests the attention of the observing foreigner. 
He is at once attracted by its great show of tem- 
ples, monasteries, nunneries, wayside joss-houses, 
frequent processions, and multiplied festivals. 
The long -robed and shaven - headed priest, with 
his slow and measured tread, his pusillanimous 
air, and his Jesuitical cunning, strikes him as a 
quite familiar personage. Even when he enters 
the Buddhist temple or monastery, things wear a 
familiar aspect. The images, the statue of the 
"Holy Mother," or "Queen of Heaven," with 
her babe, the walls adorned with paintings — some 
exhibiting passages in the life of Buddha, but 
more displaying the adventures of the Holy 
Mother — the altar with its numerous vessels and 
instruments of service, the burning candles, the 
smoking incense, the ringing bells, the service in 
a foreign tongue, the prostrations, the mock so- 
lemnity, the muttered prayers, and the monoto- 
nous chantings — all forcibly remind him of scenes 



Buddhism and Romanism. 519 

in Romish chapels. Nor will it aid in dispelling 
the illusion to find here and there, in the different 
apartments of the establishment, devout -looking 
priests counting over their beads, and repeating 
over and over again the same brief sentences, 
till he fancies he can almost catch the familiar 
sounds of " ave-marias" and "paternosters.'' A 
visit to the library will still aid in the delusion, 
especially when permitted to examine the collec- 
tion of sacred relics — Buddha's tooth, the bones 
of saints, the urns containing the ashes of de- 
parted priests, etc. — all sacredly kept and looked 
upon with the profoundest veneration. 

Nor will the resemblance be less complete by 
discovering it to be a great ecclesiastical organi- 
zation, extending its authority through various 
countries, having its infallible head in the Grand 
Lama, its pontifical court, its high functionaries, 
its priests, its monks and nuns of various schools 
and orders, its ordinances of celibacy, its holy 
water, its sales of charms, amulets, and indul- 
gences ; its masses for the dead, its worship of 
relics and canonization of saints, and its woman- 
olatry in the worship of Kwan-yin — "the Queen 
of Heaven." 

We leave to those whom it may concern the 
task of accounting for these resemblances. 



XXXIII. 



y £l\Q Won\en of Cl\irfa kr\d Jkpkrj. 



jN contemplating the women of China, they 
present themselves to us, as in our own 

ji country, in various grades of society, from 
JL the humble boat-woman and the noisy bur- 

t den-bearer to the modest and retiring wife of 
the wealthy merchant, and the secluded but gaudy 
wives and daughters of the mandarins. She is 
found degraded and ignorant in her contracted 
home on a little boat that lies moored by the river 
bank, or plies to and fro on its broad bosom, 
gaining her livelihood by fishing, and rearing her 
children in want and ignorance. She is found 
beneath the rays of a broiling sun, laboring in 
the fields, sowing, planting and gathering, and 
bearing her products on her shoulders to the 
market, her careless husband in the mean time 
often amusing himself with the children, or 
smoking his tobacco or opium at home. She 

is found thronging the streets, bearing heavy 
520 



Classes of Society. 



5 21 



burdens, performing the most menial services, 
competing with rough, half-naked men in feats 
of strength and labor, herself as boisterous and 
as masculine as 
they. She is 
found, in another 
grade of society, 
in the secluded 
retirement of her 
home, called by 
the name of wife, 
but used as her 
master's slave, 
having the duties 
of a miserable 
household to dis- 
charge, with none 
of the rewards of 
love or gratitude. 
Still higher in life 
she is found as 
the tinseled and ornamented inmate of the 
"inner apartments," secluded from society, bear- 
ing the hollow title of wife, or filling the char- 
acter of the purchased handmaid, free from 
degrading employments, but left to amuse her- 
self as she can with music, embroidery, and 
dress, and always expected to amuse and gratify 




THE FIELD WOMAN. 



522 China and Japan. 

the wishes of her master, without dreaming that 
she has a right to be considered his equal and 
companion, or expecting any return for her affec- 
tion and kindness. She is found, too, in the 
wretched hovels of vice and infamy, the most 
miserable and degraded of her kind, because 
often her degradation is involuntary, and she 
occupies her wretched position because unfeeling 
and poverty-stricken parents have sold her to 
a monster. 

As found in these various positions, her per- 
sonal appearance and dress differ considerably. 
In the middle and lower ranks of society the 
Chinese female possesses but few attractions. 
Her dress is always modest and seasonable, but 
not always clean and tasteful. Her naturally 
tawny complexion is made more dark and rough 
by exposure to the sun, and her consciousness 
of degradation and her conflicts with rough and 
boisterous men have made her bold and mascu- 
line. The laboring women of China have often 
been mistaken by recent visitors for men, and 
we have heard those who had but just arrived in 
China remarking that they found no women in 
the streets, when, perhaps, a third of all they 
met were the tawny, toiling, noisy daughters of 
China. In all ranks of society the hair of the 
women of China is always beautiful ; it is always 



Female Dress. 523 

black, glossy, and luxuriant, arranged with taste 
and beauty, adorned with flowers, or often put in 
the shape of their favorite but fabulous bird — 
the Chinese Phoenix — a long fold of rich dark 
hair reaching out behind the head, representing 
its tail, with two others extending from the sides 
of the head representing its expanded wings, 
while another cluster gracefully bends over the 
forepart of the head, terminated by a bright 
metallic appendage representing the bird's bill, 
which rests upon the forehead. In scarcely any 
grade of society is this beautiful ornament of the 
head found disheveled or neglected. 

Much attention is paid by the females of 
China to dress, and their outward adornments 
are always fully up to the measure of their pecu- 
niary ability. The dress in all ranks of society 
is strikingly modest, concealing all parts of the 
person except the face. This, with the head, is 
usually left uncovered. No hats are worn by 
the ladies, as these would interfere with the beau- 
tiful arrangement of their glossy hair, and their 
place is supplied with flowers, both natural and 
artificial, tastefully set. Along with these, among 
the wealthy, may often be seen pearls and other 
rich and gaudy ornaments. An interesting ele- 
ment in the Chinese character is their fondness 
for flowers, and in this their females largely 



524 China and Japan. 

participate. Every little boat that floats upon 
the water will have at least one flower-pot, and 
as many more as can be afforded ; and- every 
hut, however dismal and dark it may be, will 
have something green and beautiful about it. 
The poorest boat-woman and the toiling daughter 
of the field, as well as the high and wealthy, will 
have a flower to adorn their heads; and nearly 
every little shop, as well as the rich store, will 
have some pots of green and flourishing plants. 
Chrysanthemums, camellias, lilies, polianthes, 
magnolias, oleanders, azaleas, orange flowers, and 
the blossoms of early Spring are universal fa- 
vorites. This is a pleasing and, we think, a 
promising trait in the character of the Chinese 
female ; we have hope in the heart, though it 
may be hardened by the folds of heathenism, in 
which there is a love for the beautiful, and par- 
ticularly for the softer and gentler beauties which 
God has made in the flowers. 

The dress of the poorer females is usually 
grass-cloth or cotton — black among the laborers, 
and usually light blue among those of indoor 
occupations. Among the higher classes we find 
grass-cloth, silk, crape, etc., ornamented and em- 
broidered. The dress is made tight about the 
throat, with large sleeves, sometimes exposing 
the hands and wrists strung with bracelets. Un- 



The Small Feet. 



525 



derneath this outside dress or tunic is, among 
the wealthy, a richly embroidered skirt, extending 
nearly to the feet, from which appear, below the 
embroidered panta- 
lets, the tiny feet 
which can not be 
dispensed with in ^\ 
the Chinese lady. vJS 
When or how this 
cruel custom of 
compressing the feet 
originated, it is 
probably impossi- 
ble now to deter- 
mine; but at the 
present day it is the 
mark of the Chi- 
nese lady and indis- 
pensable to a suit- 
able betrothal. Be- 
trothal takes place 
very early in life, and a little girl whose feet are 
permitted to attain the usual size would not be 
chosen as the first or principal wife, and could 
not be introduced into any of the higher classes 
of society, except by being purchased as the 
second, third, or fourth wife of some mandarin 
or wealthy merchant. 




HOUSE WOMAN. 



526 China and Japan. 

Females who have been saved from the tor- 
tures of this compression can thus only expect a 
life of toil or degradation, and they find their 
homes upon the water, or in the fields, or as 
bearers of burdens in the close and filthy streets, 
or as the subordinate inmates of some rich 
man's " inner apartments." For these reasons, 
the custom prevails extensively in all parts of the 
country and in all ranks of society — the poorest 
family striving to secure the honor of at least 
one small-footed lady. The other sex appear to 
be very warm in their admiration of these little 
deformed appendages of the ladies, speaking of 
them often in conversation, and praising them in 
poetry, and supposing the large feet of foreign 
ladies to detract greatly from what they ac- 
knowledge, the surpassing beauty of their faces. 
These "waving willows," as they poetically call 
them, may often be seen in the lower walks of life 
tottering along the street, supporting themselves 
by one or two sticks, or resting on the shoulder 
of a little boy or girl. They are rendered unfit 
for any laborious employment ; but, in poor 
families, it is often necessary for them to do a 
large amount of outdoor as well as indoor labor, 
and they frequently display considerable inge- 
nuity in devising ways and means to accomplish 
their objects without the use of their feet. 



Polygamy. 



527 




A CHINESE LADY. 



We sometimes hear of polygamy among- the 
Chinese, but as far as we can learn this does not, 
in strict truth, exist among them. There is but 
one wife and one wedding j all the other females 
of the establishment occupy subordinate posi- 



528 China and Japan. 

tions, and are purchased with money and received 
into the house without any marriage ceremony. 
The position of the "second wife" does seem 
to be somewhat different from that of a mere 
handmaid. She is usually only taken with the 
consent of the first wife, and very frequently only 
in cases where there is no male offspring. Male 
descendants are looked upon by the Chinese as 
the highest good ; they perpetuate the family 
name, serve, obey, and cherish their parents dur- 
ing life, and pay idolatrous reverence at their 
tombs and before their tablets after they are 
dead. To be deprived of male children is the 
highest affliction, and to avoid it they will add 
wife to wife, until the cherished object is obtained. 
These additional wives are still, however, differ- 
ent from the first. When taken thus they are 
not purchased as are the handmaids, but, as is 
also the case with the first wife, a marriage fee is 
paid to their parents, and they are received into 
their new homes with certain ceremonies, differ- 
ing considerably, however, from those of the first 
and only real marriage. 

The husband and proprietor of the establish- 
ment may gather around him as many handmaids 
as his income will allow, but even this is far 
from being looked upon with general approba- 
tion, and the man does not, as in some countries 



The First Wife. 529 

of the East, rise in estimation in proportion as he 
adds numbers and beauty to his harem. It is 
easy to determine who is the first and principal 
wife in the establishment. She is more dignified 
in her appearance, and more easy and free in her 
manners, taking the lead in every thing, doing the 
honors of the house and table, issuing orders to 
servants, evidently not considering the "smaller 
wives," as they are sometimes called, on an 
equality with her. She claims to be the mother 
of the household, and looks upon all the children 
born in the house as her own. 

In the higher walks of life, where wealth 
gathers around these inmates of the rich man's 
house all the luxuries and elegancies which the 
country can afford, it might be thought an en- 
viable position to be the first wife of such an 
establishment. To the daughter of China it is 
an enviable position, for to her it is the highest 
and best she can attain, but to a woman possess- 
ing intellect and heart it must be unsatisfying in 
the extreme. The women of China possess in- 
tellect, though it wants cultivation, and hearts, 
though they need softening and refining ; and we 
can only look upon even these highest of the 
females of China as occupying a pitiable posi- 
tion. Whatever may be the establishment of 
which she is the mistress, she herself has a mas- 



53° 



China and Japan. 



ter, and can only feel that she is not the com- 
panion but the instrument of the man to whom 
her life is linked. At her marriage she becomes 




THE LITTLE FOOT. AND SHOE. 



a part of another family, and is entirely given 
up by her own, thus severing all the ties of affec- 
tion which existed between herself and her own 
family, and condemning her to a secluded life in 
the " inner apartments" of a man whom she 



The Mother-in-law. 531 

has never seen, and therefore never loved. She 
is not his associate, for they are but seldom 
together ; he receives and entertains his own com- 
pany, and transacts his own business according to 
his own pleasure, thinking no more of consulting 
the views and wishes of his wife than consulting 
those of his canary that hangs in his store. 

Though the first wife is superior to the 
4 'smaller wives" or handmaids, whichever we 
may choose to call them, she herself is inferior 
to her husband's mother, and as long as this 
worthy survives is expected to serve her with 
faithfulness and devotion. Much is written in 
Chinese books on the subject of filial devotion 
and obedience, and in all ranks of society great 
stress is laid upon it, and the outward appearance 
is pretty generally secured. Nor is this devotion 
to parents allowed to cease at death. The sur- 
viving children feel it resting upon them as a 
religious duty to provide for their deceased par- 
ents a becoming burial, to worship regularly 
before their tablets, to burn incense and sacri- 
ficial paper at their graves, and, in accordance 
with their superstitious opinions, to provide for 
their wants in the spirit land by burping artificial 
money, furniture, clothing, etc., at their tombs, 
all of which is supposed to be transformed by 
the fire into a spiritual form adapted to the 



53 2 China and Japan 

wants of their deceased friends. While apparent 
obedience and subordination are rendered to par- 
ents while living, and these duties are religiously 
discharged after their death, we have much rea- 
son to doubt if much of it springs from the 
genuine feelings of the heart. 

Be this as it may, the principle extends into 
the married life, and always where parents still 
survive gives an inferior position to the wife, 
and, in many cases, produces for her a sad and 
toilsome life. In not a few instances she is the 
mere servant of her husband's parents. She can 
do nothing of importance without consulting her 
mother-in-law, and is expected, in all cases, to 
yield in deference to her opinions and wishes. 
In the higher circles of life the wife seems to 
take pride in thus waiting upon the mother 
of her husband, consulting her upon all occa- 
sions, never being seated while her mother-in-law 
stands, anticipating her wishes, helping her first 
at table, etc.; but it is very evident that this 
does not spring from filial respect and affection, 
but from regard to the position she occupies. 
Were she the devoted wife of the man whom her 
heart had chosen, we might conceive a high 
degree of respect and veneration for her hus- 
band's mother, and probably a glad and cheerful 
acquiescence in this custom of her country, but 



The Poor Maa's Wife. 533 

in this respect we can only look upon and pity 
her as the hireling, whose place and character 
depend upon the faithful discharge of this duty, 
the violation of which would be a sufficient 
ground for her dismissal. In the lower walks 
of life this subordination of the wife to the 
mother is the fruitful source of many broils and 
much unhappiness, the irritated husband often 
beating his wife for neglecting his mother, and 
sometimes turning her away from his house, by 
sending her back to her parents, or by selling 
her as the inferior wife or concubine of another. 
The position of the wife in China, in the 
lower grades of society, is still more pitiable. 
Here she is the same unloved and neglected 
creature as is found in the seclusion of the rich 
man's home; but here she must also serve as the 
selfish husband's wife and as the mother of his 
children, and at the same time as his creature 
of toil and labor. He may hire her to service 
and come daily to receive her wages ; she toils 
in the fields, she fishes upon the river, she carries 
burdens in the street, she returns weary and 
worn to her dark and cheerless home, she eats 
alone her scanty meal, she cares for the wants 
of the children to whom she has given life, and 
no gentle word of encouragement falls upon her 

ear; no look, no expression of love greets her 

34 



534 China and Japan. 

coming ; no smile, no gratitude repays her for her 
toil, for she is a daughter of China, she is a 
woman, she is a wife in the East, she is a 
heathen, and a heathen wife and mother. O ye 
daughters of Christian lands, on which heaven 
has showered its choicest benedictions, how little 
do you know of the sighs and tears, of the lone- 
liness and desolation of these unloved daughters 
of the East. 

If this be the domestic condition of the 
wives, what must be the position occupied by 
the purchased handmaids of the grandees of 
China? These are found principally in the se- 
cluded apartments of men of wealth and official 
standing ; but they are found also in a still more 
humiliating character as the purchased hand- 
maids and slaves of humbler men. The daugh- 
ters of China by hundreds and thousands are in 
the market, and whoever has the means to pur- 
chase, and the ability to keep or the hardihood 
to work them, may have them for the buying. 
In the houses of the high and wealthy these 
females are freed from low and degrading labor; 
they are handsomely dressed, and spend their 
time in as much pleasure as they can find in the 
retired quarters which are assigned them. They 
exhibit in their manner and bearing a sense of 
inferiority, and sometimes of degradation, painful 



Handmaidens. 535 

to witness. Their very manner betrays an empty 
and unsatisfied heart, and their deportment, in 
many cases, proves that they realize their hu- 
miliating condition, and shows that they are sen- 
sible of the real state in which they live, which 
is one of servitude, from which they may be dis- 
charged at the pleasure or caprice of their mas- 
ters. They are subordinate in every thing to the 
first or principal wife, and to her belongs the 
children that they bear to him she calls her hus- 
band. If sent away the inferior wife can not 
remove her children w r ith her, unless it be the 
pleasure of her master, who can compel her to 
take them if he does not wish the trouble or 
expense of maintaining them, which is often the 
case if the children be girls ; and thus when dis- 
charged, she either goes forth in loneliness and 
desolation worse than widowhood, to enter into 
new degrading relations, or burdened with her 
offspring, to seek as she can a livelihood for her- 
self and them. In the higher circles of life she 
is the gaudy ornament of the rich man's house 
and the instrument of his pleasure ; in the lower 
walks of life she is, unquestionably, the victim 
of a form of slavery which finds no parallel in 
enlightened or Christian lands — purchased and 
sold at her master's pleasure, and used at once 
as his instrument and his slave. 



536 China and Japan. 

In such circumstances of degradation no won- 
der that we find suicide existing to a large extent 
among the females of China. Since the intro- 
duction of opium into the country, a drug which 
secures by its narcotic power an easy death, this 
dreadful practice is becoming fearfully common, 
and the oppressed and degraded female feels that 
she has in her power the means of freeing 
herself from the dominion of her master, and 
of putting a perpetual end to all her sorrows; 
and many a heartless husband now suddenly 
loses the wife that he degrades, and many a 
master loses at once the pleasure and the profits 
of his handmaid or slave. 

Nor when we look at woman's condition in 
this great empire, and realize it in all its as 
pects, need we wonder "that before her female 
offspring have drawn but few inhalations of a 
heathen atmosphere, with the prospect placed 
before the child, which the mother knows and 
feels in all its force, she quenches the fire of ma- 
ternal love, and closes its existence by suffo- 
cation." This dreadful practice of infanticide pre- 
vails extensively throughout the empire. Parents 
destroy their female infants in many cases imme- 
diately after birth, and perhaps it is most gen- 
erally done as soon as the child is known to be 
a female, for, in the beautiful language of Mrs. 



Infanticide. 537 

Bridgman, "they do not wait for the eye to 
sparkle, and the smile of the expanding infant 
to work upon the maternal bosom — this would 
be too much for a mother's heart, even for a 
heathen Chinese mother." In cases of poverty 
and want female children of riper age are often 
cast off and left to die of starvation. These 
little abandoned infants, some dead, some dying, 
scattered along the wayside, or, with a dim hope 
of eliciting sympathy, placed on the public thor- 
oughfares, are by no means rare sights in China. 
Indeed, the birth of female children is looked 
upon in nearly all families as an affliction, and 
all the care required by them is viewed as profit- 
less trouble and vexation. Three ways are used 
to get rid of them whenever they become too 
numerous or burdensome — infanticide, abandon- 
ment, and sale. In rich men's houses the most 
genteel method of saving the family from too 
large a number of females is to suffocate them 
as soon as born. This is also practiced among 
the poor, but not, I imagine, when there is a 
prospect of realizing any thing by their sale, and 
this is preferred for its profits, no matter into 
what circumstances of degradation and infamy it 
may bring their offspring. 

I do not feel as well qualified to speak of 
the women of Japan as of those of China, 



538 China and Japan. 

having had much less opportunity of observing 
or studying them. Yet even in a hasty trip 
through Japan the stranger at once sees that 
the condition of women here is, in many re- 
spects, superior to that of women in any other 
Asiatic country. The general principles which 
regulate the position of woman in relation to 
man, such as her unquestioned inferiority and 
dependence, her absolute subjection to her hus- 
band if married, to her eldest son if a widow, to 
her father as a girl, and to her elder brother if 
fatherless, and the general laws and customs in 
regard to marriage, concubinage, and divorce, are 
about the same as prevail in China. But mar- 
riage, the home, and the family are certainly 
much more significant in Japan. The little 
family circle is much more left to itself, more 
free from the interference and demands of fathers- 
in-law and mothers-in-law ; the husband and wife 
manifest more affection for each other, heartily 
love their children, both male and female, and 
seem mutually to work together to create a 
pleasant and happy home. 

Among the masses of the people their wants 
are few and easily supplied ; their homes are 
very simple and their furniture very limited and 
cheap, and their clothing scant and inexpensive. 
The house is built of wood, light and airy, and 




JAPANESE COURT LADY. 



The Japanese Home. 541 

generally only one story high. They are parti- 
tioned into rooms, not by permanent walls, but 
by sliding frames or folding screens, so that they 
can alter almost at will the size and shape of 
the rooms. The floors are covered with mats 
made of straw and rushes, and several inches 
thick, so that they serve at once for seats 
after the peculiar fashion in which the Japan- 
ese sit, and for beds, a Japanese simply fold- 
ing himself in his outer coat and stretching 
himself on the matted floor, resting his head 
on a peculiarly shaped pillow. The window 
frames are all movable, filled with oiled paper 
instead of glass. The furniture of the house 
is on the same simple plan. A Japanese, no 
matter what his rank or wealth, has but little 
furniture. The room looks always bare and 
empty. A few shelves hold some cups and 
saucers, and there are generally several small 
trays on stands. There are no chairs, and the 
tables are low, small, and plain. As to the 
kitchen, one or two small movable stoves, a few 
pans of metal, and some brooms are all that are 
needed. Every-where, however, you will admire 
the cleanliness observed in these homes. 

Marriage is universal, the great problem 
which disturbs so many in western countries — 
how to keep a wife and home — being unknown 



542 China and Japan. 

here. Their future house is taken, containing 
three or four little rooms, in which clean mats 
are put. Each then brings to the housekeeping 
a cotton-stuffed quilt and a box of wearing ap- 
parel for their own personal use ; a pan to cook 
the rice, a half-dozen large cups and trays to eat 
off, a large tub to bathe and wash in, and the 
great problem of home and family is solved. 

The Japanese young women have very pleas- 
ant features, a complexion in general of a soft 
pale brown, which, in the higher ranks of so- 
ciety, becomes still paler, and by no means so 
pleasant. The features vary greatly from heavy, 
stolid coarseness, to a shape and expression of 
delicacy and refinement, showing that the Jap- 
anese are evidently a mixed race. I do not think 
the young women add at all to their natural 
charms by their arts of adornment. On a gala 
day they may be seen by thousands about the 
temples richly and even beautifully dressed, but 
their faces, necks, and busts besmeared with 
white paint or powder, several brownish trian- 
gular spots painted on their necks, and the 
natural pink of the lips rendered disgusting by a 
layer of red paint. Owing to a miserable cus- 
tom which has prevailed for centuries in Japan, 
the handsome, pleasant featured girls are soon 
transformed into ugly hags, so that, until you 



Old Customs. 543 

study the case, you are surprised that a country 
having multitudes of really pretty girls is full 
of the most homely and forbidding married 
women. The married women coat their faces 
and bosoms with powder, paint their lips, pluck 
out their eyebrows, and blacken their teeth, 
thus giving them a really repulsive appearance. 
Thanks to the new influences that are now oper- 
ating so vigorously in Japan, these customs are 
rapidly passing away, and another generation 
will undoubtedly show less contrast between the 
handsome daughters and the homely mothers. 

The traveler will at once be impressed by 
the far greater freedom of action and publicity 
enjoyed by the Japanese women than those of the 
other Asiatic countries, and by the greatly less 
burdens of labor imposed on them. Indeed, she 
has been treated for ages in Japan as a hu- 
man being of a gentler sex than that of the 
man. She has always received more or less 
of education, has been taught various arts and 
accomplishments, can write and read, play several 
instruments of music, and some have raised 
themselves to positions of high consideration in 
literature and art. The new civilization finds 
ready acceptance among the women and girls, 
and the new and greatly enlarged movement in 
the direction of female education finds a pre- 



544 China and Japan. 

pared people among the women, who enter into 
it with enthusiasm and success. It was to me a 
most pleasing sight to see a half-dozen bright, 
pleasant looking girls in the car from Ozaka to 
Kobe buy the daily papers, and sit down quietly 
to read them, and not at all unhuman to see the 
same girls now and then cast coquettish glances 
at two or three fine-looking young Japanese gen- 
tlemen in the same car. Mr. Griffis pays a not 
unmerited tribute to these daughters of Japan, 
when he says: "In the records of the Japanese 
glory, valor, fortitude in affliction, greatness in 
the hour of death, filial devotion, wifely affec- 
tion, in all the straits of life when codes of honor, 
morals, and religion are tested in the person 
of their professors, the literature of history and 
romance, the every-day routine of fact, teem 
with instances of the Japanese woman's power 
and willingness to share whatever of pain or sor- 
row is appointed to man. In the annals of per- 
secution, in the red roll of martyrs, no names 
are brighter, no faces gleam more peacefully 
amidst the flames, or on the cross of transfixing 
spears, or on the pyre of rice-straw, or on the 
precipice's edge, or in the open grave about to 
be filled up, than the faces of the Christian Jap- 
anese women in the seventeenth century." 

Another feature in the life of Japanese women 



Female Characters. 545 

we ought not to pass unnoticed, because we be- 
lieve it is greatly misunderstood, and therefore 
often wrongly stated. It is believed by some 
that licentiousness is the first and characteristic 
trait of these women, and that ordinary chastity 
is next to unknown in Japan. This is certainly 
a mistaken view. Wifely infidelity is punishable 
by death, and there is no reason to believe that 
there is any more infidelity among the wives 
of Japan than in other semi-civilized nations. 
The Japanese maiden is an anomaly among 
Asiatic women. She is bright, gay, affable, free ; 
seems to have but little if any sense of delicacy 
in the exposure of her person ; in former years 
would be found with other girls and women pro- 
miscuously mixed with men in the public baths, 
and multitudes of them, (many however, invol- 
untarily) are leading lives of shame. These last, 
however, are scarcely ever seen on the streets. 
The Yoshiwara is an institution in many of its 
features peculiar to Japan. Most of the inmates 
are purchased for life or hired for a term of 
years. Of this institution we have nothing to 
say here, except to affirm our belief of the truth 
as stated in these words of Mr. Griffis : ''The 
Japanese maiden, as pure as the purest Christian 
virgin will, at the command of her father, enter 
the brothel to-morrow and prostitute herself for 



546 China and Japan. 

life [or for a term of years]. Not a murmur 
escapes her lips as she thus filially obeys. To a 
life she loathes, and to disease, premature old 
age, and the grave, she goes joyfully. The 
staple of a thousand novels, plays, and pictures 
in Japan is written in the life of a girl of gentle 
manners and tender heart, who hates her life and 
would gladly destroy it, but refrains because her 
purchase money has enabled her father to pay 
his debts, and she is bound not to injure her- 
self." A case of exactly this kind came under 
my own notice in Hakodate in 1878, and thou- 
sands of such cases exist in the great cities 
of Japan. 

As to the Japanese maiden outside of these 
houses, she is as much misunderstood by for- 
eigners and other Asiatics as our bright, free, 
loquacious American girl generally is in Europe. 
Out of the public bath she will come with her 
toilet completed, a very picture of womanly re- 
serve and modesty. Certainly no women can be 
more decently clad than those of Japan. As to 
their indifference to personal exposure, we can 
only say it is a custom of the country. They 
live in a climate and country where men, women, 
and children have been indifferent for ages to 
the covering of their persons. Fathers, brothers, 
and husbands all sanction it, and, as Sir Ruth- 



The Japanese Girl. 



547 




JAPANESE GIKLS. 

erford Alcock says, '/from childhood the feeling- 
must grow up as effectually shielding them from 
self-reproach or shame as their sisters in Europe 
in adopting low dresses in the ball-room or any 
generally adopted fashion of garments or amuse- 



54$ China and Japan 

ments. " There is in them no consciousness of 
wrong. It is to be remarked, however, that the 
sense of indelicacy is now springing rapidly into 
life in the presence of the full-clad foreigner, and 
the lightly-covered maiden or woman, perfectly 
unconscious of any thing wrong in the presence 
of her own countrymen, will draw up her dress 
or conceal herself when the foreigner appears. 
In taste and neatness of dress, in politeness, 
courtesy, and etiquette, the Japanese lady is not 
easily surpassed in any country. In her love of 
her children and care for them, in her care for her 
home, its cleanliness and adornment, in the free- 
dom and affectionateness of her nature, she will 
compare well with the women of any nation. Still 
in her whole character she suffers the repression 
and consequent degradation of her subordinate po- 
sition. Her whole life and duty is summed up in 
one word — obedience, first to her father, then to 
her husband, and then, if widowed, to her oldest 
son. It is my profound conviction there is not 
in the world another field for missionary and 
philanthropic effort so hopeful, so promising and 
inviting, and so ripe for an immediate and glo- 
rious harvest, as is now offered among these 
daughters of Japan. 



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